Dear Fate
by punkrocker4139
Summary: Olivia Mae Hamilton is a spoiled first class girl used to getting everything she wants in life. Holly Spencer is the young girl unfortunate enough to be her maid. One trip on the grandest ship in the world will show them just how much they have in common.
1. Chapter One: Olivia

**_Olivia_**

* * *

><p>Olivia Mae Hamilton gazed in awe upon the grand sight before her. The RMS Titanic gleamed brightly as a beacon of hope for the young British girl. Soon, she would be on her way to America, to be married to one of the richest men in America, and Olivia couldn't think of a more pleasing thought.<p>

"Are you alright, Miss?"

Olivia turned to her left and saw her personal maid, Holly Spencer. Holly had been her maid since Olivia was 10, making young Holly only 9. Holly's parents had been part of the Hamilton staff long before Holly was even born. When they died, instead of sending her to an orphanage, the Hamilton's kindly gave her the position of Olivia's personal maid.

"I'm fine, Holly. Get the bags will you?" Olivia said as she made her way to the ship.

After going through the necessary steps, Olivia and Holly were on their way up the plank, on their way to a new life. Stepping into the ship, Olivia marveled at the elegance of it while Holly made sure to give the officer on duty their names. After ensuring that they were indeed first class passengers, the two young girls were on their way to the suite.

"Since it is just the two of us, Mother and Father made sure to put us both in the suite," Olivia said dismissively, looking around the room with a curious gaze.

"Which room are you going to be in?" Holly asked, as a steward came in with the bags.

"The one to the left, I should say. It is far bigger and I do need a sizeable amount of room for all of my things," Olivia said, peering into the room.

She walked in and sat at the vanity as Holly began dragging her trunks one by one into the room. Looking into the mirror, she smiled at her reflection. She really was gorgeous. Her long blonde curls were piled elegantly onto her head in a bun and her clear green eyes shone brightly. Touching her hair lightly, she stood up and peered out the window to see the ocean go on for miles and miles.

"I think I'm going to go up to the deck to see the ship off from the port. Come up and find me once you've finished putting the rest of my trunks in here," she said before leaving the room.

She made her way quickly out onto the first class deck and smiled seeing the dock at Southhampton. Looking at all of the people still on the dock while she was privileged enough to be on Titanic made her smile. She looked for about ten minutes until the horn on the ship sounded, signaling that it was the top of the hour, or eleven o'clock. She turned around and looked at all the first class passengers meandering around, some waving to the people on the dock, some taking a look around deck, and some going to have tea in the café. Deciding to go for tea, she headed towards the café, not bothering to wait for Holly. She knew that the young maid would be out here waiting for her when she finished the tea.

That was one of the best things about Holly. No matter what, she always did what Olivia told her to, even if it caused herself physical harm or embarrassment. Not that she ever made Holly do anything that physically harmed her, at least not on purpose anyway. She did, however, order her maid to do embarrassing things quite often. It was one of her favorite past times. She smiled to herself as she entered the café, looking around for someone to join.

Not seeing anyone of any particular interest, she sat down by herself. Ordering some tea with lemon, she looked around the room once more. There weren't that many people in the room, and out of the people that were in here, she didn't recognize any of them, which was surprising as she knew most people with money. Her tea arrived and she waved the steward off, not bothering to thank him. It was his job, after all. Sipping her tea daintily, she didn't realize Holly had arrived in the café until she was sat across from her.

"Took you long enough to get up here," Olivia said, not looking at her.

"You had a lot of trunks to move," Holly replied.

"When will we be leaving this dreadful place? I am eager to get to America to meet my fiancé," Olivia asked, ignoring Holly.

"We will leave in about 45 minutes." Holly answered.

"Must we wait so long? I am ready to be away from this place. We've been here far too long," Olivia complained, setting her tea cup down.

"There are more passengers that need to be boarded. The world does not revolve around you, Olivia," Holly replied absently.

Olivia turned her head sharply to look at Holly.

"Well, it should. I am nearly the richest person on this ship. They should be catering to my every need," Olivia said, lifting her chin slightly.

"That's what I'm here for. And you could have gone to America earlier with your parents. You didn't have to stay here for an extra month," Holly replied.

"Yes, well, I wanted to visit Paris one last time before we left. And I wanted to sail on Titanic. It is far more luxurious than the liner Mother and Father sailed on," Olivia said.

"Only the best," muttered Holly sarcastically.

"Of course," Olivia replied, recognizing the sarcasm in Holly's voice but choosing to ignore it.

They spent the remainder of the time in the café, talking idly of many different things. When the horn sounded that Titanic was leaving the dock, Holly turned to Olivia.

"Would you like to go out to the deck and watch as we leave?" she asked.

"Why would I want to do that?" Olivia asked, confused.

"To see England for the last time," Holly replied.

"I'd rather not. I'm so sick of England and what is has to offer. I am ready to be in America, getting married and starting my new life." Olivia said.

"Alright, well where would you like to go then?" Holly asked.

"Father arranged some sort of meeting with some of the more important people on the ship. Getting in good with them and such. I'm supposed to meet with them at lunch. I suppose I should go dress for that." Olivia said, rising from her chair.

They silently made their way out of the café and back towards their suite. When they arrived, Holly picked out a dress for Olivia to wear while Olivia herself picked out some jewelry. She looked through her jewelry box and picked out all of the most expensive and beautiful pieces. After quickly dressing in her gown and having Holly put on her makeup and jewelry, she was ready to go.

"I'll have you escort me to the dining hall and then you'll be free to go as you please. Be back in two hours to escort me out of the dining hall. I shall like to have a look around the promenade deck when I've finished." Olivia said, entering the front room with Holly trailing behind her.

They walked silently down to the dining hall, Holly walking about a foot behind Olivia. When they reached the dining hall, Olivia nodded to Holly and stepped into the room.

Looking around, Olivia spotted John Jacob Astor, the richest man on the ship, and his young wife Madeline. Since he was the richest, Olivia figured this is where she should go.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Astor," Olivia said as she approached him.

"Ah. Miss Olivia Mae. How wonderful to see you, darling!" Mr. Astor exclaimed, grabbing her offered hand and placing a light kiss on her knuckles.

"Madeline, darling, how wonderful to see you again," Olivia said, leaning in and exchanging a light hug with the younger girl.

"Oh, yes. It is quite wonderful to see you, Olivia. I had rather hoped that you would be on the ship. I had heard how you were waiting to sail on Titanic." Madeline replied, careful not to brush her stomach against Olivia.

Olivia smirked inwardly at Madeline's delicate condition that was painfully obvious, despite how hard they were trying to hide it, but she chose not to comment.

"However could I pass up the opportunity to sail on the grandest ship in the world, no less on her maiden voyage? I told Father I simply must be on the Titanic, and not the dreadful liner they were taking a month previous." Olivia replied as they made their way to a table.

Mr. Astor introduced her to more important people, including Mr. Thomas Andrews, the ship's designer, Mr. Bruce Ismay, the owner of White Star Line, Mr. Caledon Hockley, a young millionaire traveling with his younger fiancée, Rose Dewitt Bukater, and her mother, Ruth.

As she ordered her lunch as made small talk with all of the people around the table, Olivia thought to herself that there was no other place she'd rather be.


	2. Chapter Two: Holly

_**Holly**_

* * *

><p>Holly Spencer made her way slowly from the suite and headed out to the first class deck. Although she was a maid and should have been staying in second class, it was a rare stroke of luck that the Hamilton's decided she should stay with Olivia in her suite. So, even though she was a maid, she still had first class privileges.<p>

Reaching the promenade deck, she looked out to the ocean briefly before turning her head. Seeing the vastness of the ocean made her slightly nervous.

She didn't have to worry though, as it was unsinkable. Or so everyone said. In her opinion, nothing could be unsinkable. She had overheard some men talking that not even God himself could sink this ship. Holly could not disagree more. Now that he had said that, God would probably sink the ship just to spite him. She shuddered at the thought.

She walked quietly, with her head down so as not to make eye contact with any of the other passengers. Despite technically having a first class ticket, she still did not feel comfortable around all of these rich people. Even though hardly any of them were out considering it was lunch time.

As she was lost in thought and not watching where she was going it was inevitable that she would run into something. She just didn't expect that something to be a someone.

"Oh my! I am terribly sorry!" she started to apologize as said someone caught her before she fell back.

"It's quite alright Miss. It's mostly my fault. I was not watching where I was going," the voice cheerily replied.

She looked up to see a handsome man staring down at her with bright brown eyes. A closer glance revealed him to be some sort of officer on this ship.

"Are you alright, Miss?" he asked, concern briefly crossing his face.

"Yes. I'm quite fine, actually. I'm terribly sorry about running into you, sir. I was not watching where I was going," Holly replied, looking down once more.

"Maybe because you were looking down. I'm no expert, but I'd say that's not a good idea when walking around," he joked.

Holly smiled slightly and looked up at him. He was young, but older than her. If she had to guess, she'd say early twenties.

"Oi, Moody! Quit chatting up the pretty girl and get back to your rounds!" a voice called from behind the officer, now identified as Moody.

Holly felt an extreme blush on her face and looked down again. She had never had anyone call her pretty before. As Olivia liked to remind her constantly, her eyes were slightly too large for her face, her hair was a dull shade of brown and far too long, and she was too short.

"Oh shut it, Lowe! You're just jealous it's not you!" Moody called back, turning around to face the other man.

Holly took this as her cue to leave and quickly turned and left.

"Wait! Don't let him scare you off! He's just a grumpy old man who's jealous I'm talking to a pretty girl and he isn't," the young man said, easily catching up with her and gently grabbing her arm.

She looked behind him.

"He hardly looks older than you," she stated, seeing the man in question.

"What? No. He's at least five years older than me. If not more," Moody replied.

"That is not much of an age difference. If you'll excuse me, I must be getting back," Holly said quietly, pulling her arm from his grasp.

"Would you like me to walk you? It's not proper for a lady to be unaccompanied in the presence of so many men," he asked.

"I'm sorry, sir, but you must have me confused with someone else. For I am not a lady, but just a maid," Holly replied, looking down once more.

"A lady all the same. Where are you headed?" he smiled, looking down at her.

"The first class dining hall. To meet my mistress," she replied, seeing no point in arguing.

He gently grabbed her hand and hooked it in the crook of his elbow, steering her in the direction of the door which led inside. No words were spoken between them, but Mr. Moody did occasionally look down at the young girl. She chose to stay silent, instead looking at the floor. When they reached the dining hall, Holly looked up to see Olivia standing there, talking to a young man and his younger red headed companion, a bored look gracing her beautiful face.

"I suppose this is where I leave you. Try not to run into any more people," Mr. Moody smiled, causing Holly to turn a deep shade of red.

She smiled shyly and made her way over to Olivia, standing a few feet away to be polite and not eavesdrop on their conversation. She looked up to see the young red headed girl looking at her, a strange look on her face. When she noticed her, the red head gave a brief smile and returned to the conversation. Finally, Olivia noticed her.

"Ah, Holly. How delightful for you to join us," she said somewhat sarcastically.

Holly curtsied but stayed silent.

"Well, Mr. Hockley, Miss Rose, if you'll excuse me. I must be going," Olivia said, and with that, she turned around, not bothering to even wait for a response.

Holly followed Olivia all the way out to the promenade deck, managing to keep at least a foots distance between them.

"Holly, come up and walk with me. I have no desire to adhere to formalities and wish to speak with you."

Holly meandered up to Olivia, walking slowly by her side, if not a few inches behind her.

"Well, lunch was simply delightful. I was in the company of some of the richest people on the ship, including J.J. Astor, in fact the richest person on the ship, Bruce Ismay, the owner of White Star Line, and Thomas Andrews, the ship's designer. Isn't that just lovely?" Olivia practically squealed with delight.

"Absolutely fascinating," Holly replied, somewhat sarcastically.

"So who was that tasty dish that escorted you back to the dining hall?" Olivia asked, ignoring the sarcasm.

Holly looked up quickly to see a smirk plastered across her face.

"Just an officer of the ship. I managed to run into him when I was walking on the promenade deck," Holly replied, somewhat embarrassed.

"He seemed quite keen on you. Am I going to have to keep you locked in my room and away from him?" Olivia joked.

"He was not keen on me. He was simply being polite," Holly replied, ignoring the joke in Olivia's voice.

"Oh! My little Holly is growing up and getting beaus! What's next? A wedding?" Olivia laughed lightly.

"I'd hardly think so. As I said, he was just being polite," Holly replied.

"Ah. Miss Olivia. Fancy seeing you up here. And who is your lovely companion?"

Holly looked up to see an older gentleman standing there, a kind smile on his handsome face. Holly would have been nervous to be in Olivia's presence while in the company of someone else, had he not had that pleasant smile on his face.

"This is my maid, Holly, Mr. Andrews. And it is nice to see you again. I very much enjoyed your company today at lunch," Olivia replied, smiling politely.

"And I yours. Good day, Miss Olivia. Very nice meeting you, Miss Holly," Mr. Andrews replied, bowing slightly to the two of them before walking past them.

"Isn't he just so charming? And he is just the most polite person. He is even nice to the lower class people. I just don't see how he does it," Olivia said, turning to watch him walk away.

Holly said nothing and they continued on their way. They continued to walk for another ten minutes before Olivia complained that she was in need of an afternoon nap before they reached Cherbourg that night.

As they were walking back, Holly noticed the older officer who scolded Mr. Moody a while ago, Lowe, if she recalled correctly. He noticed her as well and gave her a pleasant smile and a small wave. She blushed and smiled in return, nodding her head slightly in acknowledgement. This did not go unnoticed by Olivia, apparently.

"Well, well, well. Looks like I'm just going to have to lock you away from all of the officers, now won't I?" she laughed.

Holly merely blushed in response.


	3. Chapter Three: Olivia

_**Olivia**_

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><p>Olivia woke the next morning to her bedroom curtains being thrown open and bright sunlight pouring into the room.<p>

"Time to get up, Liv. You've slept in far later than your parents would deem acceptable. It is almost eleven o'clock. We will be arriving in Queenstown in about a half an hour," Holly said, bustling around the room getting everything ready.

Olivia groaned and rolled over, not ready to leave the comfort of her nice, warm bed.

"Olivia, get up. You've already missed breakfast and morning tea, and you've only got an hour before lunch. And you've still got to bathe," she heard Holly say from somewhere near the foot of the bed.

She sat up and rubbed her eyes. Pushing her hair away from her face and out of her eyes, she stood up and yawned, stretching and standing on the very tips of her toes, a move from ballet that she learned long ago that she did to wake herself up even more.

"You are the most annoying person I have ever had the misfortune to meet," she said to Holly as she exited the bedroom.

"The same to you," she heard Holly mutter underneath her breath.

She smiled at the comment and entered the bathroom, waiting rather impatiently for Holly to turn on the bathtub. After complaining about the water temperature for about five minutes, she finally decided that it was suitable.

While she was bathed, Olivia babbled on incessantly about many things, including her fiancé waiting for her in America, money, and how much prettier she was than Mr. Hockley's fiancée, Rose.

"I think I am more attractive than her. She just has a portly face, and I bet she has probably a 19 to 20 inch waist. Nothing compared to my 16 inches," she said smugly as Holly dumped a cup of water over her head.

"Holly! What have I told you about warning me? You know I hate to have water in my eyes and mouth!" Olivia practically screamed.

"I'm terribly sorry, Miss. I was so engrossed in your story, I forgot," Holly replied sarcastically, which Olivia immediately picked up on.

"You'll do well to remember next time. Brat," Olivia said, not bothering to lower her voice.

"Snob," Holly replied.

Olivia resumed her speech until her bath was done. From there, she had her hair towel dried, before putting on her slip and corset. She stood facing the floor length mirror while Holly laced up her corset. After that was finished, she slipped on the dress that was picked out for her, a simple dark grey dress with white lace sleeves going to her elbows and a dark purple sash around the waist. She put on her white gloves to match while Holly fixed her hair in soft curls using the curling tongs, which were heated to just the right temperature. After her hair was fixed perfectly, Holly attended to her makeup. When everything was finished, it was almost five till eleven. Holly quickly grabbed Olivia's hat before placing it on her head and the two walked out the door. When they arrived at the parlor, Olivia stopped Holly before going inside.

"Join me for lunch today. I wish to have someone to talk to and it doesn't seem anyone in there is of any importance," Olivia said, peering into the dining hall.

Olivia heard Holly sigh as they entered the dining hall together, but paid it no attention. They sat together at a table near a window, not saying anything.

"You do think I'm prettier than Rose, right?" Olivia asked, looking across the table to Holly.

"Well, I didn't see her up close or anything, but yes, I'd say you're far superior in looks to her," Holly answered simply.

"Good," Olivia replied.

They both ordered their lunch and made small talk, mostly about how pretty Olivia was, or Olivia teasing Holly about the two officers from the day before.

"Miss Olivia, darling, how are you?"

Olivia looked up to see Mr. Ismay peering down at her.

"I'm quite fine Mr. Ismay, just enjoying lunch. How are you, sir?" Olivia asked politely.

"Splendid. Just splendid. I would be honored if you moved to our table, right over there, and joined us for lunch," Mr. Ismay stated, pointing to a table that contained none other than the Hockley party, which included Mr. Hockley himself, Rose, and Rose's mother, Mr. Andrews, and Molly Brown.

"I would be delighted," Olivia smiled, standing up and walking over to their table.

After greeting the other table guests, she took her seat beside Rose and ordered her food to be brought to this table instead. Only then did she remember Holly, who was standing unsure of what to do a few feet away from the table.

"Would any of you fine people be bothered if my maid were to join us for lunch? I normally wouldn't ask, as it's not proper, but she has already ordered her food and she looks terribly pitiful over there by herself," Olivia asked.

"Not at all. Come, Holly, and join us for lunch," Mr. Andrews smiled, grabbing a chair from another table and setting it beside his and across from Olivia.

Olivia could see Holly's unsure look, and beckoned her over with her hand. She watched her hesitantly perch herself on the edge of her seat, not daring to look at any of the people at the table. So Olivia went on with socializing, sneaking glances occasionally at her out of the corner of her eye.

"So tell us about Titanic, Mr. Ismay. I find the subject quite fascinating," Olivia said, a charming smile in her face.

"Well, she is the largest moving object made by the hand of man in all history. And our master ship builder Mr. Andrews here designed her from the keel plates up," Mr. Ismay bragged, looking over to Mr. Andrews.

"Ah. I may have knocked her together, but the idea was Mr. Ismay's. He envisioned a steamer so grand in scale, so luxurious, that its supremacy would never be challenged. And here she is. Willed into solid reality," Mr. Andrews said, rather modestly.

"Here, here," Mr. Hockley stated, smiling lightly.

Everyone began to order as the waiter made his rounds on the table. All except for Olivia and Holly, of course, who had already ordered. As the waiter was taking Mr. Ismay's order, Rose pulled out a cigarette and lit it.

"You know I don't like that, Rose," Mrs. Dewitt Bukater said disapprovingly.

Rose blew the smoke in the direction of her face as a response.

"She knows," Cal said, taking it from her mouth and putting it out before ordering, "We'll both have the lamb, rare, with very little mint sauce. You like lamb, don't you, sweet, pea?" he added as an afterthought.

She said nothing, only smiled sarcastically at him. Olivia was a little shocked at the look she gave him. It was not her place, certainly not any woman's place, to disrespect a man in such a way. Even if he was controlling, it was a woman's place to be controlled.

"You gonna cut her meat for her too, there Cal?" Molly Brown asked, laughing slightly.

It got awkwardly quiet for a few seconds and Olivia chanced a look at Holly. She was now looking up at everyone at the table, still careful not to make eye contact but looking curiously at them. Rose, in particular.

"Hey, uh, who thought of the name Titanic? Was it you, Bruce?" Molly asked, attempting to start another conversation.

"Yes, actually. I wanted to convey sheer size, and size means stability, luxury, and above all, strength," Mr. Ismay said boastfully.

"Do you know of Dr. Freud, Mr. Ismay? His ideas about the male preoccupation with size might be of particular interest to you," Rose asked suddenly.

Olivia looked at her in shock once again. She could see out of the corner of her eye Molly Brown, Mr. Andrews, and even Holly trying to hide their giggles.

"What's gotten into you?" Mrs. Dewitt Bukater asked, clearing scandalized.

"Excuse me," Rose said, standing up and leaving the table.

Everyone just watched her leave.

"I do apologize," Mrs. Dewitt Bukater said, plainly embarrassed.

"She's a pistol, Cal! Hope you can handle her," Molly Brown said, looking to Mr. Hockley.

"Well, I may have to start minding what she reads from now on, won't I, Mrs. Brown?" Mr. Hockley asked, quite sarcastically.

"Freud? Who is he? Is he a passenger?" Mr. Ismay asked, clearly not understanding.

"Never you mind, Mr. Ismay. He is no one important," Olivia answered, leaning forward slightly to look at him.

He seemed satisfied with this answer, and conversation continued on. Mr. Hockley waited until lunch came, which was only a few minutes later, before he went and got Rose. He brought her in, rather roughly by her arm, and she was once again seated beside Olivia.

"So, Miss Olivia, I hear you are going to America to meet your fiancé. A Mr. Henry Wellington, if I'm not mistaken?" Mr. Ismay asked.

"You are correct Mr. Ismay. I'm rather excited to meet him as well. We've been engaged for well over six months and I have yet to meet him," Olivia replied, excited that she was now the center of attention.

"Yes, he is a charming young man. Not much older than you, if I remember right."

"He is five years older than me. It really is a perfect match," Olivia replied dreamily.

Conversation continued on for the rest of lunch until everyone was finished.

"Well, if you'll excuse us, we shall be headed up to the promenade deck for an afternoon walk. Good day," Olivia said, rising from her seat.

"Of course. Good day, Miss Olivia, Miss Holly," Mr. Andrews smiled, rising with the rest of the gentlemen as the two girls left.

They made their way out to the deck and took the way towards the stern. When they reached the end of their deck, Olivia looked out to the ocean behind them, completely ignoring the steerage people below. Holly was silent behind her.

"Aren't you glad that I insisted Father get you a first class ticket instead of steerage? Wouldn't it be dreadful if you had to be down there with that bunch?" Olivia asked, finally acknowledging the people down there and turning up her nose in disgust.

"As they are generally my people, I really wouldn't mind all so much," Holly replied absently. She didn't mention the fact that she would have been in second class anyway.

"Well, if you like them so much, you should go join them," Olivia said, a smirk coming onto her face.

"What?" Holly asked, turning to look at her with confusion etched across her face.

Olivia suddenly ripped Holly's maid cap from her head and tossed it onto the steerage deck below. She watched the horror flash across Holly's face as she watched the cap float down to the steerage deck. Olivia was actually surprised that it went that far.

"Why, Holly. Whatever do you think you are doing in the presence of your mistress without your cap on?" Olivia asked loudly, trying to hide her giggles.

Holly looked at her with an unreadable expression on her face. Olivia guessed that it was a little bit of anger, disappointment, and embarrassment.

"Well, go on. Get to it," Olivia laughed as Holly turned to go down to the third class deck.

Where she belonged, no doubt.

**Thank you to my wonderful reviewer/subscriber ****! I'm so glad you like it and I hope it lives up to your expectations!**

**If I get enough love, I may post the next chapter tonight. Just sayin'.**


	4. Chapter Four: Holly

_**Holly**_

* * *

><p>Holly blushed as she made her way down to the steerage deck. It was not unlike Olivia to embarrass her like this, in fact it happened quite frequently that she should be used to it by now. But she never was.<p>

She finally reached the lower deck and began to look for her cap. She had more, it was true, but only two more and she could not afford to lose it.

"Looking for this?" A hand appeared in front of her, holding the cap out.

Holly looked up and saw a young Irish man attached to said hand, standing in front of a young blonde man and another man who looked Italian, both of whom were watching her from the bench beside the railing.

"Yes, sir, I was. Thank you," Holly flushed a deep crimson, reaching out to grab the hat.

He pulled it just out of her reach.

"Why did your mistress throw it? That seems very impolite," he said with a smile, his eyes twinkling.

_To torment me, I suppose. It's her favorite past time, embarrassing me._

Instead of saying just that, she made to grab the cap away from him but he held it just out of her reach, still smiling.

"Come on, it can't be that bad," he said, holding it above even his own head.

"Please, sir, if you'll just give me my hat, I'll be on my way," Holly practically begged.

"Oh come on, Tommy. Give the poor girl her hat," the blonde man said with an American accent, closing the leather binder in his lap and walking over to the pair.

The Italian boy wasn't far behind.

"I'm curious as to why a lady would be so cruel to her maid. It was obviously no accident as we three witnessed it," the man now named Tommy said, turning to the blonde.

"It's not your business why I do what I do, and it is certainly not your place to tease my maid. Now if you will kindly return her hat to her, we will be on our way."

The three boys looked over Holly's shoulder, while Holly herself spun around in surprise to see Olivia standing there, on the third class deck, of her own will. Holly had never witnessed anything more shocking.

The man named Tommy just smiled.

"As you wish, your highness," he mocked, bowing and holding out the cap for her.

"Are you mocking me, boy?" Olivia asked, a disgusted look coming onto her face.

"Not at all, ma'am, only trying to give your hat back," he said, the mocking grin still on his face.

"Well I don't know why you are trying to hand it to me. It's not my cap. It's hers. And I really think you should apologize for treating her in such a way," Olivia said, pointing to Holly.

"I will apologize as soon as you do, Miss, for throwing the cap down here in the first place," Tommy said, the grin suddenly vanishing.

"Excuse me? I think you've forgotten your place, _sir._ I am a first class lady, and you are just a steerage boy. You have no right to tell me what to do," Olivia said, clearly offended.

"I didn't tell you what to do, _ma'am._ Only said I wouldn't apologize until you did," Tommy replied.

"I demand you apologize to her right now!" Olivia yelled loudly.

"Fine. I'm sorry, Miss. Sorry that your mistress is so nasty tempered and you have the displeasure of working for her," he replied, more to Olivia than to Holly.

The two boys behind him didn't know whether to laugh or be fearful for his life. Olivia turned a rather unpleasant shade of red and looked as if she couldn't even speak. She opened and closed her mouth several times before ripping the cap out of his hand, thrusting it forcefully onto Holly's head, and dragging her away by her wrist. Holly doubted that Olivia had ever been spoken to like that, having been brought up like a princess her whole life.

They made their way back up to the first class deck, Olivia fuming silently and Holly trailing along behind her. In all their time together, Holly didn't think she'd ever seen Olivia this furious. Except for maybe on her twelfth birthday when she didn't get a pony. But her father got her one the next day, so all was forgiven. Holly honestly didn't know what was going to happen. She didn't want her to be angry the rest of the day, because it would be taken out on her. So she decided to do the only thing she could think to do. Grimacing, she threw herself to the floor, right in front of a passing officer, not looking up at him.

"Oh! I am so terribly sorry, sir!" she blushed, not having to fake her embarrassment.

"Are you alright, Miss? It looks like you took a nasty fall," the officer said, helping her up.

She looked up at him and realized she did not recognize him. He was older, older than both of the officers she had previously met. He had a kind enough face, with nice blue eyes and a polite smile.

Olivia had by now realized Holly was not behind her and turned around to look at the scene unfolding before her. Holly could clearly see her smirk from her position a few feet away.

"Yes, sir. I am fine. I am terribly sorry for getting in your way," Holly mumbled, trying to side step him.

"It was no trouble at all. Are you sure you are fine? Would you like me to find you an escort back to your suite?" he asked kindly.

"No that is quite alright. Thank you though," she said, passing him and walking over to Olivia.

They walked a few feet until they were sure the officer was out of ear shot.

"Do you know who that was?" Olivia asked, not bothering to hide her glee.

"An officer of some sort?" Holly asked, trying to hide her embarrassment with no success.

"Not just any officer. First Officer Murdoch! Oh my, Holly, you are such an idiot!" Olivia laughed, skipping ahead.

Holly smiled, despite the mortification she was now feeling. It was so easy to make Olivia happy. One embarrassing encounter and the steerage boy was completely forgotten.

They made their way to the suite, stopping occasionally so Olivia could make small talk with some of the more important passengers. She seemed to know them all by name, and Holly could hardly keep them straight. So she more or less tuned them out. Instead, she thought of what was to become of her when Olivia was married. Would she go on to be her personal maid even after Olivia moved in with her new husband? Would she be fired? Would she be given another position in the Hamilton household? And what of love?

Holly sighed as she thought about it. What she wouldn't give to find true love. Olivia was perfectly content to be in an arranged marriage where she would have a secure and sure future, but Holly could not see how anyone could be happy with that. She imagined meeting a man who she was so incredibly in love with, that she could spend the rest of her life with and have lots of children with, someone who would treat her right and love her just the same. She knew it was a long shot, but she had more of a chance for love than any of the first class girls did.

They finally arrived back at their cabin, where Olivia declared that she would have an afternoon nap and then bathe and prepare for tea. Holly helped her out of all of her clothes and corset before helping her into her afternoon nap outfit, not to be confused with her night clothes.

"Oh Holly. Can you believe the nerve of that steerage boy? The way he spoke to me, as if he were in the same social class? I have never been so appalled in all my life."

Oh, so we're back to that again.

"You really should stop thinking about it, Liv. You're never going to see him again, so what is the point in obsessing over it?" Holly asked as she closed the curtain.

"I just can't believe I let him have the last words. He got the best of me, I'm afraid to say," Olivia replied.

"You're going to go back down there, aren't you?" Holly asked slowly, afraid of what the answer was going to be.

"Of course, dear Holly. I cannot be bested like that and let him get away with it," Olivia said, smiling sweetly as she gracefully fell into her bed, stretching her arms up to allow Holly to cover her.

This was going to be a long night.


	5. Chapter Five: Olivia

_**Olivia**_

* * *

><p>After dinner, during which Olivia sat with the people who were becoming her regular meal companions, she made her way out to the first class deck in search of Holly. Technically, Holly possessed a first class ticket, and could have eaten with the rest of them, but Olivia did not think it was proper to have her maid there with her during dinner. And so she ordered food for her in the suite to eat there. She knew that it did not take Holly long to eat, as she did not eat much to begin with, so she knew that Holly would be on the deck.<p>

So it was no surprise that evening when she found Holly lightly snoozing in one of the deck chairs, snoring softly. She crept up beside her.

"Holly! Wake up!" Olivia all but shouted.

Holly woke with a start and was so startled by the rude awakening that she rolled out of the chair. Olivia clutched her sides with laughter as Holly sat up, hair in a very messy bun and hat askew.

Holly glared at her but this only made Olivia laugh harder.

"Come, you silly child, let us go find this steerage boy and put him in his place," Olivia laughed.

She stood up straight and began walking towards where she knew the steerage deck could be found. Once there, she looked around a bit in confidence, despite having all of the steerage people looking at her in awe.

"You there. Tell me where I can find a man named Tommy. He has curly hair and is young. He was wearing a bowler hat when I saw him last," Olivia said, pointing to a young man.

"I'm sorry, Miss. I do not know of this Tommy of whom you speak," he replied politely.

"You do not know him?" Olivia asked in confusion.

"Olivia, not all steerage people know each other. There are a lot more of them than there are of you," Holly whispered quietly.

Olivia scrutinized the young man for a second.

"Very well. Carry on," she said, waving her hand dismissively.

He just looked at her in confusion.

"I said, 'carry on'," she said, looking at him pointedly.

He stood from his seat and walked away, glancing back at her in the same confusion.

"Olivia, this is their deck. You can't just order them around down here. We're in their territory now," Holly said.

"Oh shut it. I can order them around wherever I damn well please. I am, after all, of a higher social class. Now help me find this boy," Olivia said.

"Do you even know what you are going to say to him when you find him?" she heard Holly ask from behind her.

"No. But I'm sure it will come to me when I see his unsightly façade," Olivia replied.

"Unsightly? I actually thought he was rather good looking," Holly said thoughtfully.

Olivia turned to her in horror.

"Good looking? That steerage trash? You would," Olivia said.

"Class has nothing to do with attractiveness," Holly replied.

"It has everything to do with class. Looks are only a small factor in how attractive someone is," Olivia stated matter-of-factly.

"You didn't seem to think that of the young Officer Moody yesterday. I'm sure he hardly has more money that some of these people down here, and you were quick to admit his attractiveness yesterday," Holly replied.

"That's different. I meant for you, he was attractive. I would never think that for myself," Olivia said quickly.

"Well, think of this young steerage man for me. What would you say about his attractiveness then?" Holly prodded.

"He was an arrogant, insufferable know it all, and I would never allow you to marry such filth," Olivia replied calmly.

"You wouldn't allow me?" Holly laughed, "Olivia, I know you are my mistress and I am required to do as you desire, but you have no control over who I marry."

Olivia turned to glare at her, stopping completely.

"Are you contradicting me, Holly?" she asked in a dangerously low voice.

"No, absolutely not, Miss," Holly replied sarcastically.

Olivia laughed lightly at the look on Holly's face and continued to walk around the back of the ship.

"Please tell me you are not interested in this boy. Please, just go for the officer. He was simply delightful," Olivia said.

"I'm not going for either one. I have no interest," Holly replied.

"Come back for more, have ya?"

They both turned at the same time to see Tommy standing there with his two friends, smiling lightly. Olivia opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came. She was completely speechless, and it frightened her to no end.

"Cat got your tongue?" the blonde boy asked.

"Excuse me?" she spat.

"You just looked like you were having trouble, that's all," he said well naturedly.

"I was not having trouble, I just…" she trailed off, once again her words leaving her hanging.

The blonde boy laughed, shook his head, and left with the Italian. Probably the smart thing to do once she got a hold of herself.

"Still treating you like a slave?" Tommy asked Holly, but still looking at Olivia.

"Do not speak to her!" Olivia shouted suddenly.

"That answers that question," Tommy replied, that smirk ever present on his face.

"I do not treat her like a slave. She is my maid yes, but not my slave," Olivia said nastily.

"So you let her do what she wants then?" Tommy asked.

"When she is not needed by me, yes, I do," Olivia replied.

"So tomorrow, while you're at supper, will you be needing her?" Tommy asked.

"Not that it's your business, but no, I won't be in need her. She is free to do as she pleases," Olivia replied.

"Good. Excuse me, Miss, but I was wondering if you would like to accompany me to dinner tomorrow night in the third class dining hall?" he asked, finally turning to Holly.

"She will go no such place!" Olivia shouted.

"Excuse me, but I thought she wasn't your slave, if she's not on duty, who are you to say where she goes?" Tommy asked, turning back to Olivia.

Olivia saw that she had no way around this.

"You're right. Fine, then. She will accompany you to this supper in the third class dining hall tomorrow night," Olivia stated calmly.

"What? No, that's quite alright, I'd rather not," Holly protested, but neither heard her.

"Fine, I will meet you here, tomorrow at seven. Is that alright?" Tommy asked, looking at Holly once more.

"No, that's okay," Holly started to protest again, but she was cut off.

"She'll be here," Olivia replied, grabbing Holly by the wrist and dragging her away from the nasty man.

"I cannot believe him! Who does he think he is, judging me like that? The nerve of him," Olivia said once they reached the first class deck, making their way back inside.

"Should I throw myself in front of an officer again?" Holly asked lightly.

"No, there will be no need for that. I'm afraid not even your humiliation could bring me out of my foul mood. I suppose we'll just retire for the night," Olivia sighed.

They got to the suite and after undressing Olivia and then redressing her for bed, Holly quietly left. This allowed Olivia some time alone to gather her thoughts. She still did not know why she went speechless when she saw Tommy. It was so unlike her. She also was unsure of why he got to her so much. Maybe it was the way he spoke to her, as if he were her equal. She had never been spoken to like that in all her life. Not even by her parents. It was simply not acceptable. The only person who spoke in the same manner to her was Holly, and most of the time she was just kidding anyway. He was not kidding. He was mocking. It frustrated her to no end and with that, she fell into a fitful and uncomfortable sleep.


	6. Chapter Six: Holly

**_Holly_**

* * *

><p>After dressing Olivia to go to afternoon tea, Holly once again made her way out onto the deck. Although she was officially a first class passenger, she was nowhere near comfortable enough to join them for tea. Not that Olivia would allow her to anyway.<p>

She sighed lightly as she reached where the first class deck overlooked the third class deck. She was not looking forward to meeting the steerage man Tommy for dinner. It was not her fight and she was unsure as to why she was drawn into it. It was obvious to her that Mr. Tommy was interested in Olivia, so Holly did not understand why he was paying her so much attention.

And so she thought about dinner tonight, wondering if the other two boys would be there with them. She had rather hoped they would, as it would be less awkward and Mr. Tommy would maybe talk to them instead of her. Which was doubtful, as he seemed keen to get information out of Holly about Olivia. Nevertheless, she would unfortunately have to suffer through dinner and then she would be home free. She would hopefully be able to talk some sense into Olivia, and make her see that it's not proper for a girl of her status to be visiting a boy of his.

She walked up to the railing on the side of the ship and looked over, seeing only ocean for miles and miles. Not quite sure what she was doing, she looked over even farther to see the ship meet the ocean. It frightened her to no end, which is why she was so shocked that she did not immediately pull back and just stood there, staring down with such intensity.

"You alright, Miss?"

The sudden voice frightened her and caused her to shriek rather loudly and jump, pitching her forward and farther over the rail.

"Whoa! Steady there!" Hands encircled her waist and brought her back down on the deck.

She turned around to stare at the officer she ran into on the first day, Officer Moody.

"You alright?" he asked, once he saw that she had calmed down.

"Yes, quite fine, actually. You just gave me a fright is all," she replied, clutching her chest in an attempt to calm her speeding heart.

"Oi! What's all the screaming down here?"

Holly looked beyond Officer Moody to see two more crew members running their way, Mr. Lowe from before and an unknown steward.

"Sorry, sir. I wanted to make sure Miss- I'm sorry, I'm not sure of your name, Miss," Mr. Moody said apologetically, turning to Holly.

"Holly, Holly Spencer," she muttered quietly.

"Yes, I wanted to make sure Miss Spencer was alright and she must have been so deep in thought that I surprised her, is all," Mr. Moody finished.

Mr. Lowe looked over Holly, deemed that this was the truth, and turned back to Mr. Moody.

"You seem to find yourself in the company of Miss Spencer often, eh Jamie?" Mr. Lowe smiled, raising his eye brows suggestively.

Holly blushed as Mr. Lowe's companion laughed.

"Oh shut it, Harry. Both of ya," Mr. Moody laughed.

"Well, Miss Holly Spencer, I am sorry to take your new friend away, but Mr. Moody must finish his rounds. If you would like, I can find a steward to escort you back to your cabin?" Mr. Lowe asked politely.

"No, that is alright. If you'll excuse me, " she said quietly, stepping around the three gentlemen.

She felt the eyes of the three men on her as she made her way down the deck. Once she was out of their eye sight, she slowed her pace. As she passed the dining hall, she peeked in and saw Olivia having afternoon tea with the rest of the first class companions she had made for the trip. After tea, Olivia would join them on a walk around the first class decks, and then come back to the suite for a quick nap before waking up and bathing for dinner. Oh, the fruitless existence of the first class lady.

Holly made it back to the room and saw that it was almost 2:30. That gave her an hour before Olivia would be back, most likely escorted by some rich, important man, no doubt. She pulled out her book, The Awakening by Kate Chopin, and walked out to the private promenade deck. Setting herself comfortably in her chair, she began reading.

Some time later, she heard the door open and Olivia's voice floated through the suite, thoroughly thanking someone. The door then closed and Holly took this as her cue to get up and greet Olivia.

"Have a nice lunch?" Holly asked politely as she followed Olivia into the older girls bedroom.

"I did, actually. It was not near as boring as some of the others," Olivia sighed as she stood with her arms out.

Holly walked up to her and began to undress her for her nap, once again putting her into her afternoon nap clothes. After Olivia was in her bed, Holly walked back out to the main living room. She almost went back of to the boat deck, but did not want to run into those officers again, so she instead decided to take a nap herself.

Instead of going into her room and lying down, she lay on the couch in the main room in case Olivia woke up and needed something.

Barely ten minutes had passed before there was a quiet knock on the door. Holly groaned as she picked herself off of the couch and walked sluggishly to the door. On the other side stood a young man, perhaps only a few years older than Olivia. He was very handsome, with dark brown hair to rival her own that was slicked back, and bright shining green eyes.

"Good afternoon. Is a Miss Olivia Mae Hamilton in?" he asked, trying to peer around Holly.

"She is. But she is napping. May I ask who is calling for her?" Holly asked.

The young man turned back to her and gave her a once, twice over. He smirked at her in a very unnerving way. It made Holly very uncomfortable.

"Tell her a Michael Haim is calling for her. She will know who that is and wish to be woken," he replied, still smirking.

Holly didn't move, hesitating with her hand on the door.

"Now, if you would please," Mr. Haim said, shooing her off very condescendingly.

Holly gave him one last look before trying to shut the door to go get Olivia. Mr. Haim, it seemed, had other plans. He stuck his foot in the door, preventing it from shutting.

"Sir, if you'd please. It is not proper for you to be in this suite, especially while Miss Olivia will be in a state of undress," Holly pleaded, not sure if he'd try to force his way in or not.

"You are right, Miss. But would you have me out in the hallway. What would the other passengers say when they see me out there? What would Miss Olivia Mae say if she'd found you'd allowed me to wait for her in the hall?" Mr. Haim asked, his smirk quickly changing into a very charming smile.

Holly hesitated again, debating what she should do. Olivia was going to be angry either way, because she always was grumpy when she didn't get to finish her nap. But this Mr. Haim seemed confident enough, and Olivia would be angry if he was important and Holly turned him away.

"Alright, sir. But please, wait in this room for a minute or so. I cannot guarantee that she will see you," Holly replied.

He smiled brightly and entered the room behind her. She walked quickly to Olivia's bedroom, opening the door and slipping in silently, closing the door behind her just as quiet. She walked over to Olivia's bed and kneeled down.

"Olivia. Olivia. There is someone here to see you," Holly whispered, shaking her shoulder.

"Well tell them to come back later. Now leave me!" Olivia rolled over.

"He says you will want to see him. He is a Mr. Michael Haim," Holly tried.

Olivia suddenly shot up in bed.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier? He is the son of the second richest man on the Titanic, right behind Mr. Astor!" Olivia cried, standing up and trying to fix her hair.

Holly immediately grabbed some of her hair, throwing it up into somewhat of a bun, and gave Olivia her robe to wear out to greet Mr. Haim.

Olivia threw it on and walked out of the bedroom.

"You must be Mr. Haim. I'm Olivia Mae Hamilton," Olivia said, holding her hand out to Mr. Haim.

He gave her a charming smile and took her hand in his, kissing her knuckles lightly. Holly heard her give a girlish giggle and rolled her eyes.

"Very charmed, Miss. I was calling to see if you would give me the pleasure of accompanying you to dinner tonight," he smiled.

Holly was shocked to see Olivia actually blush.

"I would be very honored to accompany you, Sir," Olivia giggled.

"Good. I will be back here at 6:00 to escort you to dinner. Take care, Miss," he smiled, and shooting Holly a wink, turned and left.

Olivia let out a giddy giggle and fell onto the couch, smiling happily.

"Oh, isn't he just the sweetest? I had been hoping to gain his attention earlier at lunch but I thought that my advances were in vain," Olivia sighed.

"May I remind you, Miss, that you are betrothed to another and that philandering around with another man might not be looked upon to kindly by some," Holly said, standing beside the couch.

"Oh come off it, Holly. He's just escorting me to dinner. It's not like we're going to have sex in the hallway or something," Olivia replied.

Holly blushed at the crude comment.

"You are such a prude, Holly. Honestly, if you don't lighten up, no man will have you," Olivia laughed, standing up and going back into the bedroom.

Holly lay back down on the couch but before she could even close her eyes, Olivia poked her head back out of the bedroom.

"Oh, Holly. Don't go to sleep. I want to make sure you wake me up by four o'clock so I can start getting ready early. Can't have you falling asleep and not waking up in time, can we?" Olivia asked.

"No, we can't have that now," Holly grumbled, sitting up and grabbing her book.


	7. Chapter Seven: Olivia

_**Olivia**_

* * *

><p>Olivia entered the dining hall on the arm of the young Michael Haim. He had picked her up in her room, at 6:30 on the dot, just as promised.<p>

"You look absolutely lovely, darling," he had said when he was led into the room by Holly.

"You look quite dashing yourself, Mr. Haim," she replied, smiling before accepting his arm and walking out of the room.

"Don't be gone too late tonight, Holly dear," she smirked, watching Holly roll her eyes but blush nevertheless.

"We will be joining the party over there, the big table in the middle," Michael said, pointing to the table filled with the people she usually dined with.

"Sounds lovely," she smiled.

He led her over to the table, where he began making introductions to the people she already knew. She didn't stop him though, as it would be very impolite to do so.

"And I don't believe we've met, good sir," he said, stopping a young man even Olivia didn't recognize.

"Ah, this is Jack Dawson, Michael. He is the third class boy who saved my Rose from going overboard last night," Mr. Hockley said.

Olivia inwardly gasped. It was the same blonde boy that had been with that Tommy last night, the one who had made that comment about cats and tongues. She honestly hadn't recognized him all dressed up. He had apparently recognized her, though, by the smirk that was on his face. It wasn't all that unpleasant of a smirk though, more of a knowing smile.

She sat down in the seat offered to her by Michael, who was on her left while Mr. Dawson was seated on her right. She made sure to scoot her seat unnoticeably to the left, away from him. She knew how those third class men could be and wouldn't be surprised if he could steal the diamonds right out of her bracelet while she was wearing it without her being any the wiser.

"Tell us of the accommodations in steerage, Mr. Dawson. I hear they're quite good on this ship," Mrs. Dewitt Bukater asked after everyone was seated and situated.

Mr. Dawson froze for a second, looking slightly offended, before answering with a smile.

"The best I've seen, Ma'am. Hardly any rats."

Olivia was appalled for a second before hearing other people laughing at the statement. She then realized it was a joke before adding in her little giggle.

She was briefly aware of Mr. Hockley explaining the situation as to why Mr. Dawson was present, before Rose butted in.

"It turns out Mr. Dawson is quite a fine artist. He was kind enough to show me some of his work today," she said.

"Rose and I differ somewhat in our definition of fine art, not to impugn your work, sir," Mr. Hockley stated politely.

Mr. Dawson did not respond, but waved his hand dismissively.

The caviar had made its way around, so Olivia took this time to divulge in a small helping. She watched as Mr. Dawson refused some and mention something about not liking it. Olivia was slightly shocked to see him refuse it, as he was poor and had probably never tried it anyway, and here he was passing up most likely the only opportunity he'd ever have to try it.

"And where exactly do you live, Mr. Dawson?" Mrs. Dewitt Bukater asked.

"Well, right now my address is the R.M.S. Titanic, after that I'm on God's good humor," he replied.

"And how is it you have means to travel?" she asked.

She seemed to be grilling him into embarrassment, and Olivia would agree and be joining in under any other circumstances, but for some reason she felt bad for the young Mr. Dawson. He generally seemed like a nice boy and did not seem to deserve this harsh treatment.

Olivia shook her head, trying to clear it of thoughts of pity for the boy beside her. He was friends with that Tommy Ryan and did not deserve her pity.

"And you find that sort of rootless existence appealing, do you?" Mrs. Dewitt Bukater asked. Anyone could hear her condescending tone.

Mr. Dawson looked slightly embarrassed at this, but continued nevertheless.

"Well, yes, ma'am, I do. I mean, I got everything I need right here with me. I got air in my lungs, a few blank sheets of paper. I mean, I love waking up in the morning not knowing what's gonna happen or, who I'm gonna meet, where I'm gonna wind up. Just the other night I was sleeping under a bridge and now here I am on the grandest ship in the world having champagne with you fine people. I figure life's a gift and I don't intend on wasting it. You don't know what hand you're gonna get dealt next. You learn to take life as it comes at you... to make each day count," he replied.

Olivia was slightly impressed by his outlook on life. Although not said very eloquently, he had the entire table, minus Mrs. Dewitt Bukater and Mr. Hockley, completely captivated.

"To making it count," Rose smiled, holding her glass up.

"To make it count," the rest of the table said in unison, besides of course Mrs. Dewitt Bukater and Mr. Hockley again.

The rest of the dinner went rather uneventfully for Olivia, and she was bored fairly quickly. She listened to the rest of the people talk, generally asking questions to seem interested and making comments here and there. Molly Brown had just finished a rather funny story about her husband burning some of their hidden money in the stove when Col. Archibald Gracie stood up.

"Join me in a brandy, gentlemen?" he asked.

"Would you like me to escort you back to your suite, Miss Olivia Mae?" Mr. Haim asked politely.

"I would very much appreciate that," she replied, smiling and taking his out stretched hand.

"It was very nice to meet you, Mr. Dawson. I rather enjoyed your company tonight, sir," she smiled, touching him on the shoulder lightly.

"And you as well, Miss," he smiled that same knowing smile up at her, and took her handing, kissing it quickly before standing up himself.

She hooked her arm through Mr. Haim's and they made their way out of the dining parlor and towards her suite.

They made general small talk until they reached her door.

"I enjoyed your company tonight, Miss," he smiled that charming grin.

"I enjoyed yours as well. Perhaps we can meet again? I would be much obliged if you could escort me to church services in the morning," she replied sweetly.

"I shall be here at 9:45 on the dot," he smiled, giving her hand one last kiss, before turning and disappearing down the hallway.

She sighed as she opened the door and slid into her room.


	8. Chapter Eight: Holly

**_Holly_**

* * *

><p>While Olivia was off joining the rich and famous for her dinner, Holly had the opportunity to join her own people, per say, for the evening meal. After she saw Olivia off at 6:30, she made her way out of the suite and up onto the deck, careful to avoid any mishaps with increasingly familiar officers. When she reached the third class deck, Tommy Ryan was nowhere in sight and she was slightly nervous that he was standing her up, and immediately felt foolish for even coming down here. She quickly turned away and was halfway up the steps and back to the first class deck when she heard a familiar voice below.<p>

"Skipping out so soon? We haven't even been to dinner yet. You could at least wait until after before leaving."

She turned around slowly and saw a smirking Tommy Ryan looking up at her. She hesitantly walked down the steps towards him and stood on the second from the bottom, so that she was almost eye level with him.

"I saw ya come down here. Ya didn't wait very long to see if I'd show up," he said.

"You were testing me to see how long I would stay? That's very gentlemanly of you, good sir," Holly replied sarcastically, throwing in a curtsy for good measure.

"Well, well, well. So she does speak," he smiled, holding out his arm to her.

She looked at it for a second before cautiously accepting it. He helped her down the last few steps and they were on their way into the ship. He led her through a couple of corridors before stopping outside of two double doors.

"Well, here we are," he said, pushing the door open and leading her into the rather large room.

It was nothing like what Holly had expected. It actually looked rather elegant, for third class anyway. The walls were a plain white, and the tables, although there were no table clothes, were a beautiful type of wood which Holly was unfamiliar with. They were long and made so that everyone sat together at either one of them, but it was still nicer than what she was expecting.

After they were seated and had their food in front of them, courtesy of the buffet table at the end of the hall, conversation began.

"I'm sorry, Miss, but I've just realized we've not been properly introduced. My name is Tommy Ryan, and this here is my friend Fabrizio De Rossi," he said, pointing to the young boy beside him who Holly just realized was the dark skinned boy from before.

"My name is Holly Spencer," she replied, sticking her hand across the table.

He grabbed it and shook it, smiling kindly at her.

"Nice to meet you, Holly," he laughed.

And so dinner commenced.

"So how old are ya, Holly? You act very grown-up, but you look so young," Tommy asked.

"I'm seventeen," she answered.

"So what are you doing going to America?" he asked.

"Miss Olivia Mae is going to meet her fiancé. As I'm her maid, I get to travel with her," she replied.

"Ah, so the monster does have a name," he laughed.

Holly smiled.

"So how did you end up being her maid anyway?" he inquired.

"My parents worked for the Hamilton's long before I was born. When they died, the Hamilton's took me onto their staff as Olivia's maid instead of sending me off to an orphanage," Holly explained.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Tommy's ever present grin slipped off his face.

"It's alright. It's been so long I hardly remember them," she smiled softly.

He hesitantly smiled at her again.

"So, what are the two of you going to America for?" Holly ventured, trying to make conversation.

"A new life," Fabrizio said simply.

Holly smiled and looked back down to her barely touched plate. She pushed some of her food around on her plate before taking a small bite of some of the vegetables.

"So, why do you stick around with your mistress when she treats you so badly?" Fabrizio asked.

"Where else am I to go? I am but seventeen and I have nothing to offer to any man to be his wife. But honestly, she's not that bad most of the time," Holly answered.

"Not that bad?" Tommy asked, raising his eye brows.

"Really, she's not. She may seem like a spoiled rotten brat to most, and she may get most of her joy in life out of my embarrassment, but she is the one that begged her parents to let me stay on as her maid when my parents died. And she insisted I have a first class ticket so I could travel with her. And while I could have stayed in London, she asked me to come with her. I'm really the only friend she has," Holly replied.

"You consider her a friend?" Fabrizio asked.

"Yes, I do. Like I said, she may treat me with little respect most of the time, but she has always been there when I really needed her," Holly said.

"I guess I can see where some could find friendship in there," Tommy said slowly.

"You don't eat very much, do you?" Fabrizio asked, nodding at Holly's plate.

"How could she? She's so little. She probably only weighs ten pounds soaking wet," Tommy laughed, gesturing at her.

Holly blushed and looked down.

"No need to get embarrassed, love," Tommy laughed.

They joked and laughed a little bit more, Holly getting to the point where she almost felt comfortable around the two of them. She was really starting to enjoy herself when the bell signaled that dinner was over.

"Well, Miss Holly, are you ready to see how a real third class passenger enjoys themselves, or are you ready to go back up to the boring life of a first class maid?" Tommy asked, smiling widely.

"Oh, I really would love to, but I must be getting back. Miss Olivia will be getting done with dinner and I must be there to attend to her," Holly replied.

"Oh come on! Live a little! She cannot get undressed by herself for one night?" Fabrizio asked, as he and Tommy each took an arm.

"Oh, you'd be surprised," Holly mumbled, following the two of them without a fight.


	9. Chapter Nine: Olivia

**_Olivia_**

* * *

><p>"Where is that stupid girl? I told her to be back early. Why does she never listen?" Olivia mumbled to herself, pacing back and forth in the sitting room of her suite.<p>

She had arrived back about ten minutes ago, and had expected Holly to be back as well, to help her wash down for the night and get her into bed. But Holly was not back, and although she'd never admit it to anyone, Olivia was a little bit worried.

She paced around for another ten minutes before finally deciding to go look for the stupid girl. Opening the door and peering in the hallway, she looked around before slipping quietly out of the suite.

The first place she as going to look, which she was not looking forward to, was going to have to be third class.

She hadn't even made it to the third class deck before she as both tired and bored. Mentally cursing Holly, she sat down and tried to think of a plan. It's not like she could just storm in there and demand to know where Holly was. Well, technically she could, but she'd already seen how they'd responded to threats and yelling. It made her feel better, but it certainly did no good for Holly.

"Excuse me, Miss. Are you alright?"

Olivia looked up to see the handsome officer from the other day, the one who had escorted Holly back to the dining hall.

"Actually, good sir I am not. I believe you became acquainted to my maid the other day, Holly Spencer? Well, I'm afraid I let her go down to enjoy a dinner with some of her fellow lower class men, and she has yet to return," Holly replied, making sure to come off just a little dramatic. Hopefully if she sounded pitiful enough, he would offer to go find her himself, and she could retire to her suite, comfortably waiting for Holly to get back.

"She is missing?" he asked, his brow furrowed in concern, just as she knew it would.

"Yes, I was just on my way to try and find her, but I then realized I had no idea where I would even begin to search for her. I am certainly not acquainted with the lower class area enough to attempt it by myself," she cried.

"Well, I just got off my shift. If you would like, I could accompany you?" he asked.

Not what she was going for, but it would do.

"That would be wonderful, kind sir," she replied, standing up and holding out her arm.

He looked at it hesitantly before slowly reaching out his arm. She hooked her hand through his arm and they made their way down to the third class area.

Olivia chanced a glance at him out of the corner of her eye as they walked along. He was young for an officer, perhaps twenty-two or twenty-three at the most. He was quite good looking, even if he was of a lower social status, she had to admit. With his dark brown hair sticking out slightly from under his hat, and his light brown eyes, he would be a wonderful match for Holly, she decided.

"You seemed quite eager to jump and help me retrieve my maid. Why is that?" she asked.

"Well, as a female passenger in danger, it is my duty to make sure she is found alright and escorted back to her cabin safely. It is my duty as an officer," he replied, somewhat nervously.

"How do you know she is in danger?" Olivia challenged.

"Where you not the one who was worried about her being late?" he countered.

"Touché," she said, smiling slightly.

Yes, he was perfect for Holly.

"I don't believe I got your name, sir," she asked him.

"Sixth Officer James Moody," he recited.

"Well, Sixth Officer James Moody, I am Olivia Mae Hamilton, as you probably already knew, and it is a pleasure to officially make your acquaintance," she smiled.

They reached the third class dining hall, and it appeared to be vacant.

"Where could that stupid girl be?" Olivia mumbled to herself.

"The third class passengers usually tend to have a sort of party after dinner. Perhaps she is there?" Officer Moody suggested.

"Yes. We shall search there," Olivia replied, marching ahead of him, despite not knowing where she was going.

Perhaps he was humoring her, or perhaps he didn't know himself, but Officer Moody let her lead the way. After coming upon a dead end several times, they finally stumbled upon hallway where they could hear the faint sound of music coming from nearby. They followed the hallway to the end, and reached a door that led down a flight of stairs where they could both hear loud music coming from, along with the sounds of laughter and a general sense of happiness.

"Shall we?" Officer Moody asked, looking over to Olivia.

"After you, good sir."

He gave her a small smile, before turning and descending the stairs.

She followed him down slowly. When they reached the bottom, they both looked around, but the room was filled and they could not spot the tiny girl anywhere.

The music was loud, and Olivia could hardly hear herself think. Pushing through the crowd, she came upon the sight of a certain Mr. Tommy Ryan. She turned back to point him out as the person most likely to be holding Holly hostage, but Officer Moody was nowhere in sight. Turning back, she marched straight over to Tommy. Upon being closer, she noticed the Italian boy from before and Jack Dawson, along with Rose Dewitt Bukator.

"Excuse me, good sir," she said sarcastically, "but could you possibly tell me what became of my maid?"

Tommy turned around and his genuine smile turned to a smirk. The rest of the men slightly bristled at her tone, and for once Olivia felt a little nervous. It did not show on her face though.

"I could not, my fair lady. She is around here somewhere, I'm sure," he said, turning around to face his friends once more.

"You just let her run around by herself? She's just a little girl, and with all these men around, who knows what could have happened to her!" Olivia exclaimed.

Several things happened at once. Three of the men seated at Tommy's table stood up, looking as if they were going to charge Olivia. Jack pulled Rose back, not wanting her to be in the middle of it. And Tommy Ryan stood up and stood in front of Olivia.

"Hey now, fellas. She's just a girl. No reason to get all huffy," he said, holding his hands out in front of him.

"She may be a girl, but she's first class. They think they can come down into our area and order us around like dogs, I won't stand for it Ryan. I won't," one of the men said.

"She didn't mean anything by it, she is just worried for her friend. You know how it is when you get worried and you don't realize what you're saying," Tommy replied.

"How can you stand there and defend her, when she's down here insulting us?" Another man asked.

"Hey, I'd be all for it if it were a man. But this is a girl, and young one at that. She is stupid and naive. She doesn't know what she's saying," Tommy replied.

Olivia gave his back a dirty look and opened her mouth to say something when she saw Jack out of the corner of her eye shaking his head softly at her, warning her not to say anything.

"You better keep an eye on that girl, Ryan. I hear her talking like that again, and I won't hold back," one of them said as they stalked off.

Olivia stood in shock for a moment, as Tommy turned around to face her.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Y-yes. I'm fine. I don't understand- I did not mean-," she stuttered, trying to come up with the words.

"They are very prideful men and don't like being insulted," Jack answered for her.

"But I was not insulting them! Or at least not them in particular," she replied.

"Doesn't matter. When you insult one of them, you insult all of them. Now, since I rescued you from them, I do believe you owe me a dance," Tommy smiled.

"What? No, I must go find my maid. I meant what I said," Olivia replied, turning up her nose at Tommy.

"She doesn't look lost to me," Jack laughed, pointing over her shoulder.

Olivia turned around to see Holly at the stairs, looking around, before silently creeping up them, a certain Officer a few steps behind her. Olivia smirked to herself before she remembered whose company she was in. She turned back around to face Tommy, his hand held out toward her and a smirk on his face.

"That dance, my lady?"

She just stared at him. On the one hand, he did save her life from those three burly men. They would have pulled her apart had he not stepped in to stop them. It was especially surprising considering how much he didn't seem to like her. Or rather, how much she put him down and ridiculed him. But still, he was a disgusting third class man, and there was really nothing that could help that. But if she did dance with him, it could really be considered charity, and Holly was always telling her how selfish and stuck up she was. So here was her chance to prove her wrong. Forcing a smile, she reached out and grabbed his hand.

She looked up at him to see a look of pure shock written across his face, before he led her slowly out onto the dance floor where an upbeat Irish song was playing.

"Why did you want to dance with me? I could have paid you or given you something of value. Why this?" Olivia asked, not looking at him.

"And miss the chance to take you down a notch? I think not," he smiled, that ever present smirk on his face again.

Olivia scoffed and tried to pull away, but his arm snaked itself tighter around her waist, pulling her closer.

"Our dance isn't done, miss. Won't be done until the song ends, so you best just suck it up," he said in his Irish drawl.

She gave him a sarcastic smile and tried to put all of her concentration into getting the dance steps right.

"What makes you think that you are so special?"

Olivia looked up.

"What?"

"What makes you think that you are any better than the rest of these folks?" Tommy asked her.

"Because I was born into money, into power, and they were not," Olivia said simply, as if he should already know.

"So it just lands in your lap and that makes you better? What about all these men who have to work hard to earn money? And what about when they earn hardly enough to feed their families? Why do you get so much respect for sitting around, being waited on hand and foot? Why shouldn't they be respected for working hard and providing for their family?" he asked, a serious tone in his voice, the usual smirk gone.

"Well, I mean, I never thought of it that way," she mumbled, looking down again.

"Ah, you're looking down again, and this time it's not to look and make sure you've got the steps right. Do I detect a bit of shame?" he asked, the smirk returning.

"No, you don't! You don't detect anything because you don't know anything about me, so don't act as if you do!" Olivia shouted, a slightly hysterical note to her voice.

Tommy merely smirked as they spun around in a circle.

Olivia couldn't believe herself. She didn't want to believe it. She'd been made to see sense. By a third class man, no doubt. It was incredulous. Ludicrous even. But the way he worded it, the way he said it, it made sense. Olivia couldn't believe it, but it made sense. Not that she'd ever admit to it. She had too much pride for that.

The song ended, and she slowly pulled away from his arms, and looked around the room as if unsure of herself. She knew she must look rather pathetic, otherwise he wouldn't have made his next offer.

"Would you like me to find someone to walk you back to your cabin?" he asked, no trace of a smirk on his face.

"Who would walk a first class lady such as myself back to my suite? And why would I trust any of these vagabonds?" She asked, her voice devoid of its usual malice when speaking of the lower class passengers.

"Would you like me to walk you back to your cabin?" he rephrased.

She looked over to him and reluctantly held out her arm. He smiled, a real smile for once, and hooked her arm through his crooked elbow.

They walked in silence through the hallways, Olivia turning the thoughts over in her head. To say she was confused at this point would be a gross understatement. It was as if her whole life had been turned upside down by one simple statement by this man leading her to her cabin.

They reached the steps that led out of the third class area. She retracted her arm from his and looked into his face.

"I can make it back from here. I don't think the other first class passengers would react too kindly to you in our area, especially escorting me back to my suite," she said.

"Are you including yourself in those other passengers?" he asked as she made her way up the steps.

She turned around and sent a soft smile down at him. The difference it made was startling. Instead of seeing a scowling, slightly unpleasant face, he saw a beautiful young girl shining through. He returned the smile and watched her walk up the steps and turn a corner before he turned around himself and made his way back to his cabin, a small smile still on his face.


	10. Chapter Ten: Holly

_**Holly**_

* * *

><p>"So are you going to tell me what happened last night?" Holly asked, lacing up the back of Olivia's corset.<p>

"I'm not actually sure. I think I must have had rotten caviar last night. I must report it to the kitchen staff at breakfast," Olivia replied, holding onto the sides of the mirror to steady herself against the tugging and pulling.

"You and I both know very well that it was not the caviar. That Mr. Ryan man said something to you and it affected you," Holly replied, tugging the strings a little tighter than she meant to.

"He did no such thing! I came to a little realization, and that is it. He may have said something to spark it, but it's nothing life changing or anything I need to go thanking him for," Olivia defended.

Holly smiled to herself, knowing it was a lie, but said nothing.

"And what of you and this officer? I saw you two leave the party together," Olivia changed the subject.

"Nothing. He walked me back to the suite. We talked on the way. He was very nice and a perfect gentleman," Holly replied.

"Are you going to see him again?" Olivia asked, her interest peaked.

"Certainly not. He is an officer. He has no time for a silly girl such as me," Holly sighed, finishing the corset.

Olivia turned to face her, "Would you see him again?"

Holly looked into Olivia's face, saw there was no trace of teasing, only curiosity, and sighed again.

"Probably. He really is quite a dish and very nice. And we got on quite well last night on the way back here," she mumbled.

"I knew it!" Olivia exclaimed as Holly walked over to the bed to get her Sunday dress.

Holly just smiled as she helped Olivia into her dress and laced up the back.

"Will you be returning to the suite after church?" Holly asked, coming around to the front and straightening the lace.

"Probably. I'll be having tea in the lounge area with the rest of the first class ladies and then there are two hours until lunch. Just be here when I get back from tea," Olivia replied.

Holly nodded and grabbed the brooch set out on the vanity table and pinned it to the front of the dress.

"Now, I know how you are about church and such things, so I've spoken to the doormen, and after you've dressed in your best, there will be a place waiting for you in the back of the chapel," Olivia said, straightening her sleeves.

Holly looked at her in shock.

"What? Is there something wrong with my hair?" Olivia touched her blonde curls piled on her head self-consciously.

"N-no. I've just- that's very nice of you, Liv," Holly stuttered.

There was a knock on the door.

"Yes, well, I'm in a very gracious mood. Now, hurry and fix your hair, girl. It looks quite a mess. I've left my rollers heated up for you. Now, go put on your Sunday best and get up to the chapel," Olivia said, hurrying out of the room and out to meet Michael Haim.

Holly stood quite still, not sure of what to do or how to react. Not only did Olivia go out of her way to include Holly, but she wanted her out of her uniform and looking nice. Holly shook her head and hurried to get ready.

She went into her bedroom and opened her trunk to pull out her finest dress, which was simply a pale blue dress with sleeves to the elbow and a sash that tied around the middle, producing a bow in the back. It was a hand-me-down dress from Olivia that had gone out of style, which Holly had simply hemmed to her size, as Olivia was a good five inches taller than her, and altered it slightly so it wasn't so out of style.

She quickly put the rollers in her long hair and pulled off her maids dress and slipping on the dress. She left the rollers in her already wavy hair for another five minutes, while she tried to clean a scuff off her nicest black shoes, before slipping her hair out of the rollers and pulling on her shoes. Before leaving, she looked quickly into the mirror and saw a whole other person staring back at her.

Her dark brown hair curled to her waist, and you could actually see she had some curves that were otherwise not visible in her frumpy maids dress. The dress didn't even look out of style and the bottom of it hid her scuffed shoes. She could almost pass for a first class lady. She smiled at her reflection before making her way out of the suite.

Holly walked down the hallway and up the staircase, going up several floors until she reached the one the housed the chapel. The doormen let her in and sure enough, there was a seat in the very back of the congregation. She grabbed the hymnal from the back of the seat in front of her and, peaking into her neighbor's, turned to the hymn they were currently on.

After they were done singing, everyone put their hymnals away and sat down. As the captain stood to speak, Holly caught a glance of James Moody up at the front with all of the other officers. She gave a small wave at him, and he smiled slightly and gave her a little wave back. She felt a little put out, until she saw the officer sitting next to him, Fifth Officer Lowe, if she wasn't mistaken, elbow him in the side and whisper in his ear. He got a startled look on his face and looked back in her direction, before his face broke into a wide grin and he waved a little more heartily at her. She giggled and blushed before turning her attention back to the captain.

After the service, Holly sat for moment to let all of the other passengers go in front of her before sliding out of her seat and starting for the door.

"Holly! Wait a moment!"

She turned to see James Moody hurrying to catch up with her. She smiled as he reached her.

"Hello, um, I was just wondering, well, I mean, I have the afternoon off, until I have to go on duty, I mean, and I was just wondering if maybe you might possibly want to have tea with me?" he asked quickly, wringing his hands and looking down.

Holly blushed and looked down as well, smiling widely.

"I would love to," she said shyly, looking back up at him.

He grinned broadly and held out his arm, which she looped hers through, and they were off.

"I hope you don't mind, but we'll be having our tea in the second class dining hall. I know you are a first class passenger," he said quietly, as if he were embarrassed.

"I am only a first class passenger because my mistress demanded it. Otherwise I would be in second class. And I take all of my meals in the suite, so being around people would be lovely," she replied, smiling up at him.

He gave a brief sigh, as if in relief, and they made their way to the second class dining room. They found a small table in the corner, him pulling out her seat for her and pushing her in when she was seated. She beamed at him as he sat across from her, not used to being waited on like that.

"You look very lovely today," he said, grinning at her with a slight red shade coming to his cheeks.

"Thank you," she bit her bottom lip and soothing out the wrinkles in her lap.

"I'm very glad you agreed to have tea with me. I almost didn't ask you, but my friend Harry convinced me too," he said.

"I'm glad you did ask me. Otherwise I would have been in my cabin, having tea alone. It gets very lonely in there sometimes," Holly replied, starting to feel more comfortable around him.

He smiled at her as their tea was set in front of them. They continued to talk, getting more comfortable around each other and realizing just how much they enjoyed the others company.

"I hate to cut this short, but my mistress will be arriving back at our suite soon, and I really should be there," Holly said, spying a clock over James' shoulder.

"That's alright," James smiled, taking his napkin from his lap and setting it on the table.

Before Holly had even moved, James was up from his seat and pulling hers out, holding out his hand to help her up. She smiled up at him before taking his hand and rising from her seat. He walked her to the promenade, but when she went to pull away, he grabbed her hand and held it still in the crook of his arm.

"And where are you going? Did you think I wouldn't walk you back to your suite? That's hardly proper," he laughed.

"But, what if someone sees? I mean, I am but a maid, and you are an officer. That is hardly proper," Holly replied.

"Have you not looked in the mirror today? You scarcely look the part of a maid. And besides, it doesn't matter. I would rather have people give us funny looks and gossip than let you walk alone back to your suite. I know this is a ship, but it is a large ship and I fear not all the passengers have good intentions," James said seriously.

With that, he steered her towards the door into the interior of the ship. He opened the door for her and she stepped through, waiting for him to come through himself and they resumed their walk to her suite.

When they reached the door, Holly put her hand on the door knob before turning to face him.

"Thank you for inviting me to tea. And thank you for walking me back to my suite, even though you didn't have to," she said honestly.

"It was my pleasure. And I was wondering, if perhaps you were going to be dining alone anyway, if maybe you wouldn't like to join me for lunch this afternoon? I mean, if your mistress doesn't have you doing anything?" he asked, once again slightly shy.

"I would like that very much," Holly replied, smiling widely at him.

He grinned again before grabbing her hand and placing a kiss on it. He blushed heavily, muttering, "I'll come for you in two hours' time," before racing off down the hall.

She giggled at his nervous behavior before walking into her suite, closing the door behind her and leaning against it, thinking very hard about the handsome boy she would be meeting very soon.


	11. Chapter Eleven: Olivia

**_Olivia_**

* * *

><p>Olivia did not go back to the suite as planned after tea. She decided to take a walk, to try and clear some of the thoughts floating around in her head. She really couldn't understand how Tommy Ryan, of all people, made her realize that just because she had more money didn't mean she was better than everyone else. She knew that she was better, she just couldn't think that way anymore. And the way he said it, it was as if he were speaking to a child. But then, she really had had the mindset of a child. She really was quite immature for being eighteen, and could hardly believe that she'd been allowed to act that way for so long. All the time she had been thinking herself an adult and calling Holly a child, when really she was just a child herself.<p>

"Penny for your thoughts."

Olivia glanced up to see none other than Tommy Ryan standing beside her, leaning against the rail and looking out towards the ocean. She looked around herself and realized she'd wandered into the third class deck area without even realizing it.

"I was just thinking," Olivia replied, looking out at the ocean as well.

"I realized," Tommy laughed.

"Oh, well, I guess I'm not as grown up as I had thought. And I'm thinking maybe I'm not ready to go off and be married. I mean, I know what is expected of a wife now that I am thinking about it, and I am not sure I am so ready to provide those things," Olivia said.

"So what are you going to do?" he asked.

"What can I do? 500 invitations have already gone out. Everyone who is anyone is going to be there. I must do my duty and be married. It's all I can do," Olivia answered.

"Wouldn't it be easier to be a third class lady at a time like this? I mean, look at your little maid Holly. She doesn't have to be in an arranged marriage to uphold tradition. She gets to meet someone and marry for love. Wouldn't that be convenient?" Tommy asked.

"I never said it was easy being a first class lady. You've got this impression formed in your mind that all I do is get waited on hand and foot. Well a lot is expected of me, as you can see. It's not all fun and games. I must appear a proper English lady. I must always be polite, and never show my true feelings. You have it easy. You may have to work harder for a living, but you have a freedom that I could never have," Olivia replied sadly.

"What brought all of this on? I mean, just last night, you were completely content with your first class status. Why the sudden change of heart?"

"I don't know. It must have started with that comment you made about you needing respect as well. It got me thinking and it sort of just snowballed from there."

"Well, I'm glad I made you see the light," Tommy smirked, looking out at the water again.

"No! Don't you understand? I was perfectly content with my life! I was sheltered yes, and very naïve, but I was happy. Happy to have all of my choices made for me and to live as a first class lady should. Now, look at me. I'm thinking for myself, I'm afraid of the future, and I am unsure if I am doing the right thing now," Olivia cried.

"Yes, but aren't you glad that now you know?" he asked.

"No. I was happy before. Jaded and naïve, but happy. Now, I am just scared. And I can do nothing about it."

"You can always do something about it."

"No, I can't, you don't understand! You know nothing of upper class society. I could never just say "Oh, well, Mother, I've learned to think for myself now, so I can't marry this man. Sorry!" It doesn't work that way!"

"Why not? Why can't you be different? Nothing is going to change if someone doesn't take the first step! You could take that first step! You could break this stupid tradition and save millions of girls the same fate! I know it would be hard, but I know you could do it. You are strong, I've seen that, and if anyone could do it, it would be you."

She didn't know what came over her, or why she did what she did, but the next moment she had grabbed Tommy by the lapels of his jacket and yanked him forward, kissing him full on the mouth. He was still for a moment, but when he began to kiss back and reach for her waist she realized what she was doing. She pulled away, shock clearly written on her face.

"I'm sorry. I don't- I'm sorry. I must- I must go," she stuttered, turning and racing up the steps, not at all the graceful first lady she should have been, but rather the insecure girl she was.

Olivia didn't even remember the trip back, but suddenly she was in her suite, slamming the door behind her. She didn't notice Holly in the corner, reading a book, nor did she notice her stand up and walk towards her.

"Olivia? Is everything alright?"

Olivia jumped at the sound, and turned to face Holly.

"Yes, I am fine. What time is it?"

"It's about a half hour until lunch. Would you like me to help you get ready?"

"No, I am not feeling well, I do not think I will be attending lunch."

"Oh, alright. Well, would you like me to stay with you?" Holly asked.

"What do you mean "Stay with me?" Don't you usually eat in here?" Olivia asked, Tommy momentarily forgotten.

"Oh! Well, yes, usually. But I was invited out to lunch, and I thought it would be nice to get out of the suite for once," Holly replied.

"Is this invitation by any chance from the same person who invited you to tea?" Olivia asked, a smirk slowly forming on her face.

"What? How do you know about that?" Holly asked, clearly surprised.

"I saw you leaving with him. Silly girl indeed," Olivia laughed, patting Holly on the shoulder.

"Well, um, yes, that is my lunch invitation. But I can cancel, if you wish," Holly replied.

"Now you are being a silly girl. Go to lunch with him. He is very nice, and really seems to like you," Olivia replied.

Holly beamed at her, "Thanks, Liv. Really."

There was a knock on the door. Holly went to open it, confused as it was still another half hour before James would be there. She opened the door, and to her unpleasant surprise, saw Michael Haim there.

"Good afternoon. I was wondering if Miss Olivia Mae was in?" he asked in his silky smooth voice.

Holly glanced back to see Olivia frantically shaking her head before sneaking into her bedroom. Holly furrowed her brow in confusion before turning back to Mr. Haim.

"I am sorry, sir, but Miss Olivia is not feeling well. She has gone to lay down and expressed she would see no one. Perhaps you could check back at dinner time?" Holly said politely.

Mr. Haim gave her a nasty smirk, "Certainly, Miss Holly. I will return at dinner time. Give my best to Miss Olivia. And to your officer friend."

He gave her one last unpleasant smirk and turned and left. Holly stood blinking in shock for a moment before closing the door quietly.

"Is he gone?"

"Yes, he told me to give you his best. And my officer friend, as he called him. He knows too?" Holly asked, turning to Olivia as she came out of her bedroom.

"Well, he did escort me to church services this morning and to tea, so naturally he was with me. I am surprised he recognized you, though," Olivia replied thoughtfully.

"Why would he say that? Why would he even bring that up? It makes me very uncomfortable. Perhaps I should cancel my lunch plans," Holly said unsurely.

"Don't be daft Holly. That was what he was trying to do. Now, think no more of it and enjoy your lunch date," Olivia said dismissively.

Holly smiled back at her just as another knock came on the door. Holly went to answer it but before she did, Olivia called out to her.

"You look lovely today, Holly."

Holly beamed at her before walking to the door and answering it.

"Miss Holly, you look lovely. Still."

Olivia giggled to herself at the officer's nervousness before walking to the door.

"Alright, Mr. Moody. I believe we were acquainted before. I got a very good impression from you, so I am happy to let Holly attend lunch with you. Just be sure that if any harm should come to my friend here, you are the one I will hold responsible," Olivia said.

"Yes, ma'am," Mr. Moody laughed, bowing to Olivia slightly.

Olivia smiled at him, patted Holly on the shoulder, and then shut the door behind them. She turned to go back to her bedroom, perhaps to take a nap, when there was another knock on the door. Turning back to look at it with a perplexed look on her face, she stood for a moment until the knock sounded again, just as polite and soft as the first. Thinking it must be Holly having forgotten something, she strode over to it.

"Honestly, Holly what could you have possibly forgotte-"

She stopped short, because standing in front of her was not Holly, but rather a certain Mr. Tommy Ryan, the ever present smirk gracing his face.

"What- how- but- how did you find my room?" Olivia asked, looking up and down the hallway to see no one before pulling him inside and shutting the door.

"I said I found something with your name on it and was hoping to return it personally so as to earn some kind of reward. You've no idea how gullible some people can be," he smiled at her.

"They just gave you my information? How could they possibly know that you weren't some murderer or something?" Olivia asked in shock.

"Because it was a certain Miss Holly Spencer that I asked. She was only too happy to point me in the right direction. I wouldn't have bothered with a story, but she was in the company of an officer so I thought it might look suspicious if I didn't. Are they together or something?" he asked, looking around the room in interest.

"Why? Do you want her for yourself or something?" Olivia asked, a slightly bitter tone in her voice that she was internally cursing herself for.

"Nah, I thought they actually looked rather sweet together. Especially with her all dolled up like that. She looks rather pretty without that frumpy maid's outfit she usually wears." Tommy said, striding over to the fireplace to inspect the mantle.

"Oh?" Olivia raised an eyebrow, not daring to say much more so as to keep the tone out of her voice.

"Why? You jealous of me looking at your maid or something?" he asked, turning to face her.

"Certainly not!" she cried indignantly.

He smirked at her before turning around and looking at the flowers on the mantle.

"So, what is your reason for being here?" she asked, going and sitting on the sofa.

"I just wanted to know what happened down on the steerage deck," he replied nonchalantly.

"I'm sure I don't know what you mean," she replied, shifting nervously in her seat.

"Oh, I'm sure you do know. While I was expecting you to come around and start liking me as person, I didn't expect THAT. Not that I minded, though," he added as an afterthought.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to I just- I don't know. You were speaking honestly to me, more honestly than anyone ever has, besides Holly, and I don't know. I just got caught up in it," Olivia replied, as honestly as she could.

He came and sat beside her.

"Well, you don't go around kissing Holly like that. Or at least, I don't think you do," he gave her a sideways glance.

"Definitely not!" she cried crossly.

"Well then, it must have been something more than my honest speaking," he laughed at her sour face.

"You brought me back down to earth, made me see how wrong I was and treated me like I should have been treated. You stood up to me and made me see that the world does not, in fact, revolve around me. Holly has told me countless times that it doesn't, but you're the only one who showed me," Olivia replied.

The smirk slowly slid off his face, to be replaced by a genuine smile.

"Well, well, well. The lady admits her defeat. Throws pride to the wind and admits that for once, maybe, she might be wrong." He didn't say it in an arrogant tone, but as though he was speaking lovingly to a child.

"Was wrong. No maybe about it," Olivia admitted, looking down into her lap.

She felt his hand cup her chin and pull her face to meet his. She looked into his eyes a moment before he slowly leaned forward and their lips met in the middle. It was a slow, simple kiss, and with all the strength in her body, Olivia pulled away.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, "but you were wrong about me. I am not strong enough and I still belong to another. I must go through with this. I have no other choice."

"Get off with me. I know I cannot give you much, but I can give you the freedom you long for. I can love you and take care of you for as long as I live. Just say the word and I will," he whispered, leaning in again.

The temptation was too great and she leaned in once more. The kiss lasted a little longer than the first, but again, Olivia pulled away.

"And what of Holly? Where would she go? She is only seventeen and I am positive you cannot support the both of us," Olivia replied.

"If I'm not mistaken, Holly seemed like she had a suitor of her own. And if not, I would do everything in my power to make sure you were both taken care of. We may not have food all the time, or the nicest clothes, but we would have each other," he replied.

She looked into his eyes, and saw nothing but honesty there. Slowly, she nodded her head and kissed him once more.


	12. Chapter Twelve: Holly

_**Holly**_

* * *

><p>"So what are your plans for when you get to America?" James asked as they continued their walk around the deck.<p>

"Go live with Olivia, be her maid and just see where it goes from there," Holly replied, shrugging her shoulders.

James nodded and looked at the ground.

"I suppose you are going to be on this ship again as an officer. Or will you be changing ship?" Holly asked.

"I'll be staying on as the Sixth Officer. But I'll have three weeks before the Titanic sails again," he answered.

Holly bit her bottom lip to try and hide her smile. To no avail, however.

"I'd really like to see you in those three weeks. If that's okay with you, of course," James said, smiling at the girl beside him.

"I would really like that," Holly smiled up at him.

They grinned at each other shyly before looking away and continuing on their walk.

"I'm really glad you ran into me that first day. I don't think I would have noticed you if you hadn't, and I would be without," he said softly.

Holly flushed a light pink and looked out towards the ocean. She stopped at the railing and leaned against it, taking in the view of the sun falling towards the horizon. James noticed she was no longer walking beside him, and turned to see her. He walked over towards her and leaned against the railing next to her, facing her instead of the ocean.

"It seems hardly possible that I boarded this ship four days ago, thinking that I would be going to America and spending the rest of my life as a lowly maid, with nothing to look forward to except a long life alone, and now, I've found you and maybe my life won't be so bitter and alone now," Holly said absently, still staring out into the ocean.

"I can assure you, it will not be. Even if something happens, and we do not end up being together in the future, I know that you are far too beautiful and nice and wonderful for someone not to love you. It's not possible," James replied, staring intently at Holly.

She turned to him and smiled, "You are far too kind, good sir. Whatever did I do to deserve being in your company?"

He smiled at her before grabbing her hand and continuing the walk around the deck. They talked about what the future might be like, and fantasized about a life together. They knew of course that they weren't in love yet, but both knew that there was a very good possibility of it in the near future.

"I should really be getting back to Olivia. I'm sure she will want to attend dinner, and she will be needing my help to get ready," Holly sighed as they reached the end of the ship.

"And I go on duty immediately after dinner. Perhaps if you will be dining in your cabin by yourself for breakfast tomorrow, you would accompany me instead?" James asked.

"That would be lovely," Holly smiled, glad to have the company.

"It's a date. But for now, we should enjoy this sunset. It is rather spectacular," James said, turning Holly around to face it.

He stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. She leaned back into him and looked out at the sky. They stayed like that for several minutes, relishing each other's company and enjoying the comfortable silence that had fallen.

"If we hurry, we could have an early dinner in the second class dining hall. That way we could have dinner together and you could still be back in time to help Olivia," James said quietly in her ear.

"That sounds nice. I am quite hungry," Holly replied as they pulled away from each other and made their way to the second class dining room.

They sat at the same table as they did earlier, and ordered off the menu in front of them.

"I must say, I am surprised at how comfortable I feel around you," Holly said after the steward had left with their orders.

James looked up, confusion etched across his face, "What do you mean?"

"Well, it's just, I don't usually warm up to people. I'm rather shy, you could say, but with you, I don't know, it's just different," Holly shrugged her shoulders.

"I guess you could say the same thing about me," James admitted.

"But, what about the other times we ran into each other? Before we were friends? You seemed so sure of yourself?" Holly was genuinely confused.

"I was scared out of my mind," James laughed, "I was so nervous. And I felt horribly embarrassed after each encounter. You wouldn't believe the grief I got from Harry afterwards."

"I was sure you just thought I was some silly little girl who didn't know her way around the ship and who was stupid enough to lean over the railing," Holly admitted.

"No, I thought you were lovely. I have to admit, when I was doing my rounds, I kept half my mind on my duties and half my mind looking out for you, hoping that we would run into each other again. And lo and behold, we did," he smiled.

"I'm glad you were the one Olivia ran into to help find me. Even though technically I wasn't lost," Holly replied.

"Me too, I must say, I was quite jealous when she told me you had dinner with another male passenger and then you hadn't come back yet. Jealous and worried," he confessed.

"But you hardly knew me. And besides, I was with Mr. Ryan. You met him this morning; he was returning something of Olivia's. He may seem a bit off putting, but I am sure he would allow no harm to come to me," Holly replied surely.

"Why did he have something of Miss Hamilton's?" James asked, confused.

"Ah, that is a long story."

So Holly recounted the story of how the two girls had met Mr. Tommy Ryan, and all the drama that had ensued since their meeting. She told him of the hat incident, and Olivia insisting on going back to give him a piece of her mind, and how Holly herself had been roped into going to dinner with him.

"And that is how I got to that party," Holly finished.

"Wait, so she was trying to prove the point that you were not her slave, and yet you ended up being forced into dinner anyway? Doesn't that seem to contradict itself a little?" James asked.

"Perhaps," Holly giggled, "but I think the both of them were more interested in proving the other wrong that they didn't really stop to consider me in the situation."

"Why? What do they have to prove to each other? I mean, he is a third class man, and she is a first class lady. Shouldn't she not care about what he thinks?" James asked.

"You'd think. She's just never been spoken to like that, and it really bothered her. So she had to prove him wrong, if only to save face. Doesn't matter who it was," Holly replied.

"How silly of her. She is lucky it was someone as good natured as this Mr. Ryan. A lot of lower class men wouldn't take to be insulted as he apparently did," James replied, glancing at his pocket watch.

"I should be heading back. I probably won't have time to get Olivia ready as it is," Holly said.

"Yes and I must be getting to the bridge. Ah, but it's on the other side of the ship where you are from. I suppose I will just have to be late," James shrugged his shoulders.

"Nonsense. I know the way to my cabin from here, and I can surely make the trip alone. I don't want to cause you to be late. I imagine they wouldn't look too kindly on us meeting anymore if you were," Holly replied, standing up.

James jumped to his feet.

"I suppose you are right on that one. But at least allow me to find a steward to escort you back."

"Really, I will be fine. No one is going to pay attention to some girl like me."

"You obviously don't know men. You are a very lovely girl, and not all men have the purest intentions. It's not right for a lady such as yourself to go wandering around alone."

Holly saw the determined look on his face and sighed.

"If you insist," she smiled slightly, flattered that he was so concerned for her safety, however unneeded it was.

James flagged down a steward, who agreed to escort Holly back to the cabin.

"Until tomorrow then," James said, bowing slightly and kissing her hand.

She giggled and turned away, looking back once to see him still looking after her, a puzzled look on his face. She contemplated this for a moment, before continuing on to her suite.


	13. Chapter Thirteen: Olivia

_**Olivia**_

* * *

><p>"We can take my jewelry and sell it to get a start. Maybe some of my nicer gowns as well. I'll wear one of Holly's dresses when we disembark. It'll be suspicious otherwise," Olivia explained as she paced in front of Tommy, who was sitting on the couch.<p>

"What're you going to say to Holly about all this?" he asked her.

"The truth. What else would I tell her?" Olivia asked.

"Is she going to be okay with this? Are you going to be okay with this? Once you disembark, Holly will have no obligation to you. She won't be your maid anymore and she won't have to stay with you or listen to you anymore," Tommy explained.

Olivia hesitated, "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. We've still got four days before we get to New York. I will start practicing with it."

Tommy shook his head and smiled.

Olivia opened her mouth to tell him that if he had a better idea, she'd love to hear it, when the door opened and Holly walked in a huge grin on her face. The two of them stared at her until she noticed them. The smile remained on her face for a few seconds before slowly sliding off.

"You've been here for a while," she said to Tommy.

"And you haven't. Have fun on your date?" he asked.

"As a matter of fact, I did. But I feel as though I missed something important while I was gone," she replied, turning to Olivia.

"Well…" Olivia started, but was interrupted by a swift knock on the door.

Holly and Olivia exchanged confused glances, before Olivia moved out of the view of the door, motioning for Tommy to follow her. They stood behind the door slightly, while Holly slowly walked to the door and opened it.

"Good evening. Is Miss Olivia Mae ready for dinner?"

Olivia paled at the sound of Michael Haim's voice. Tommy shot her a confused look, but she pressed her finger to her lips, and pointed to the door.

"I-I am sorry, sir, but she is still not feeling well. I am afraid she won't be attending dinner," Holly replied nervously.

"Nonsense, she can't lay in bed all day. Getting food in her will make her feel better," Michael said dismissively.

"I have ordered her some soup up here for her upset stomach, but I fear she won't be better for quite some time," Holly replied.

"Just go get her, you stupid girl. I would like to speak to her," Michael responded, a slight edge to his voice.

"Mr. Haim, sir, I am not questioning your motives, but you do realize she is engaged and on her way to marry someone else?" Holly said slowly.

Olivia covered her mouth with her hands, hardly daring to believe Holly had just said that. Tommy dissolved into a silent bout of laughter.

"Of course I know that, idiot. But, between you and me, don't you think we would look rather nice together?" Michael asked, turning the charm back on.

"I am sorry sir, but she is engaged to someone else. It is not her choice who she marries, nor is it yours," Holly replied, standing her ground.

Michael was silent for a second, obviously furious. The next second, he pushed Holly into the room before stepping inside himself and shutting the door behind him, careful not to cause a scene. Olivia and Tommy had just managed to slip into the bedroom before he turned around.

"Shouldn't we go out there and stop him? He obviously doesn't mind getting rough with her," Tommy whispered.

"Trust me, it will be much worse for her if we go out there," Olivia whispered back, stepping closer to the door and pressed her ear against it. Tommy followed suit.

"I don't know who you think you are, but you will not speak to me in that way. I am a very powerful man, and I could make your life a living hell."

"You have no control over me. I am not your maid. And with all due respect sir, your father is the powerful one, not you."

The loud smack of skin coming in contact resounded through the suite. There was a thud as they could only assume Michael threw Holly to the ground.

"Now go get your mistress. I should like to speak to her before I leave."

"I am sorry, but I cannot allow you to see her tonight. Now, please leave, before I summon the master-at-arms," Holly replied, with pain in her voice.

"You think you could make it to the door?" Michael spoke so softly, they could barely hear him through the door. But they heard enough to notice the threatening tone in his voice.

"I may not be able to reach the door in time, but would you be able to stop my screaming before someone hears me?" Holly replied.

Michael didn't say anymore, and for a moment Olivia considered going out there to make sure he wasn't killing Holly, when the door slammed shut. Olivia and Tommy fumbled for the doorknob before they both burst out of the room to see Holly on the ground, still staring at the door, a little trail of blood sliding down her chin from a cut on her lip.

Tommy rushed over to help her up and walked her over to the couch. Olivia walked slowly over to her and kneeled down in front of her, taking the handkerchief from her sleeve and wiping the blood off her chin.

"What were you thinking, you stupid, stupid girl?" Olivia asked quietly, gently dabbing at Holly's split lip.

"I was thinking about how much trouble you would have gotten into if he caught him still here," Holly replied, gesturing to Tommy standing off to the side.

"He could have hidden in my room while I came out. How could you say those things too him? He is going to be out for your blood now. He is a very powerful man, father or not," Olivia replied.

"I just couldn't take it anymore. The way he is always skirting around, trying to get with you. It's ridiculous. It's not as if he has a chance. What makes him think that he can stop your wedding?" Holly asked.

Olivia and Tommy exchanged glances, which did not go unnoticed by Holly.

"What is it? What are you not telling me?" she asked, looking between the two of them.

"Well, he doesn't need to stop the wedding. Because I'm going to do that myself," Olivia replied slowly.

"I'm sorry, what?" Holly asked, as if she genuinely had not heard what Olivia had said.

"I'm not going through with the wedding," Olivia answered.

"What do you mean you're not going through with it? You were more than happy to three days ago. What happened?" Holly questioned.

Olivia and Tommy looked at each other and Holly finally understood.

"Ah, I get it now. Well, if you'll excuse me, I have to go," Holly replied, standing up and going to the door.

"Wait! Where are you going? What's the matter? I thought you wanted this?" Olivia cried, following Holly to the door.

"Olivia, I wanted you to grow up a little bit. Mature some. But I never wanted you to give up your future," Holly replied, hand on the doorknob.

"This is my future now. I don't want to be stuck in an arranged marriage, not being able to think for myself, not loving my husband. I want freedom. I wanted to be loved. I want what you have," Olivia replied.

"What I have?" Holly laughed, though not at all in humor, "You are the stupid girl now. You don't want what I have, what I had. "

"Yes I do! I want to love and be loved. I want to be free to do what I want whenever I want. How could I ever do that with the life set out for me?"

"It's not all about love and being free, you dolt. You are going to have to work now, to earn your living. You are going to have to treat others with respect. When have you ever done any of that?" Holly asked, finally turning around.

"I can try. And I've treated you with respect. More respect than I show anyone else," Olivia replied.

"Where have you been the past six years? That is not respect, Olivia. That barely qualifies as friendship," Holly retorted.

"Then why have you stood by me so long? Why have you defended me against so many people? And I know that you have, so don't deny it," Olivia asked, hands on her hips.

"Because I didn't have anyone else!" Holly cried, "In case you'd forgotten, I didn't have parents like you. I didn't have anyone to help me, or love me, or raise me. I didn't have anywhere else to go!"

"You can't honestly say that you'd have rather gone to an orphanage than stay with me," Olivia said incredulously.

"I didn't say that! This is part of the problem! You never listen to what I say! I've been telling you for years that you needed to grow up, and treat people with respect. Then suddenly, he comes in and you listen to him?" Holly asked, gesturing to Tommy.

Olivia whipped around, having forgotten he was even there. He held up his hands in defense. She turned back around to Holly.

"I'm sorry. Really, I am. But I am leaving with him, no matter what. You can come with me, or you can go your own way. It's up to you," she said calmly.

Holly looked at her before whipping around and storming out of the suite. Olivia turned back around to face Tommy.

"I've honestly never seen her like that," Olivia told him.

"Don't worry. It may just take her some time to get used to," he said, coming up to her and taking her hand.

"What if she doesn't come around? What if that was her way of saying that she wants to go her own way?" Olivia asked.

"I don't think so. You guys have a very deep bond. I don't think she'd drop that just because of this."

"I hope you're right," Olivia replied as they sat down on the couch.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, enjoying each other's company. Olivia half expected Holly to walk through the door and apologize, as that was the kind of girl she was. After a half hour though, it looked as if she wouldn't be coming back for a while. Then Olivia had a thought.

"Michael!" she shouted, sitting up suddenly.

"I'm sorry?" Tommy asked, slightly offended that she was calling out another man's name.

"Michael! He has a grudge against Holly, or at least, he does now. And she's wandering around all by herself! No wonder she hasn't come back yet! He could have gotten to her!"

"Michael? That that bloke that was here earlier?" Tommy asked.

"Yes! Oh no! We've got to go find her!" Olivia stood, rushing to the door.

Tommy followed her without hesitation.


	14. Chapter Fourteen: Holly

_**Holly**_

* * *

><p>Holly walked up to the deck, not sure what just happened or where she was going. She didn't know what came over her, or why she spoke to Olivia like she had. There really was no excuse, especially not since Olivia was doing exactly what Holly had wanted her to do. Well, besides giving up her future. But Holly honestly couldn't blame her. The whole thing did sound horrible when described by Olivia, and Holly had just been thinking how glad she was that she was not in an arranged marriage. The only thing she was confused about was how Olivia could think she already had these feeling for Mr. Ryan when she had only met him three days ago. Before she'd even finished the thought, James' face came swimming into her mind.<p>

_This is madness,_ she thought, _for I do not love James and Olivia cannot possibly love Tommy._

But the more she thought about it, the more she realized that she did, in fact, love James. Maybe she wasn't in love with him, but she certainly loved him a great deal. Which meant that it was very possible for Olivia to love Tommy.

She shook her head and continued walking. She stopped and looked over the railing to stare out over the ocean, marveling at how vast it was.

"Well now, you just left Jamie an hour ago. You couldn't possibly miss him so soon."

Holly turned around to see a man standing behind her, a good natured smile on his face.

"I'm sorry?"

"Aren't you the one he spent the day with?" the man asked, stepping closer.

"Um, yes. Who are you?" Holly questioned, stepping back.

"Oh, I'm Harry. Harry Lowe, Fifth Officer," the man replied, bowing slightly.

"Oh, alright. Yes, James speaks of you often," she smiled back at him.

"I'm sure he does. What happened to your mouth?" he asked, his smile vanishing slightly.

Holly pressed her fingers to her lips and felt a small cut on the bottom one, which was also slightly swollen.

"Oh nothing," she smiled, "What did you mean about missing James?"

He gave her a once over before continuing, "Well, you're almost at the bridge, which is where he is on duty. Didn't you realize?"

"Oh no, I was thinking. I didn't realize where I was going. I must be headed back though. I wouldn't want to distract him from his work," Holly said, turning around to head back to her suite, where she would promptly apologize to both Olivia and Tommy.

"Nonsense, he can spare a few minutes," Harry said, lightly grabbing her wrist and pulling her back.

The pressure on her wrist caused her to wince slightly where Michael Haim had grabbed her and thrown her to the ground, but Harry took no notice.

"Wait right here," he told her when they reached the outside of the bridge.

He walked inside and Holly had half a mind to turn and run back to her cabin. She had even turned around and had taken a few steps when she heard James call out to her. She turned around and stepped back up to him. Immediately, he grabbed her face to look it over.

"What happened?" he asked softly, gently running his thumb over her split lip.

"Nothing. I just had a bit of a tumble. That's all," she lied. No sense in worrying him over nothing.

"Oh? And how did you manage this in a tumble?" he asked, gently taking her arm and holding up her wrist to the light, where a bruise was already starting to form.

So Harry had noticed it.

"It was nothing. Honestly. A slight altercation, but nothing I couldn't handle," she forced a smile.

"I bet the other guy doesn't look like that."

They both turned to see Harry leaning up against the wall behind them.

James turned back around to face Holly, "You have to tell me who did this."

"Honestly, it was nothing. There will be no more trouble from… them," Holly hesitated.

James opened his mouth to argue, but Holly cut him off.

"Honestly, there is nothing to worry about. Now, I am sorry to have disturbed you while you are working but I must be getting back," Holly yanked her arm out of his grasp and started to walk away.

She had barely taken four steps when he caught up with her.

"Please, Holly. I just want to keep you safe, and I can't do that when there is someone running around here hurting you," James pleaded, taking her hand in his.

"James, I promise you there is no need to worry. I got a little bit mouthy when I should have been respectful. It was my own doing," Holly replied, squeezing his hand slightly.

"Did Olivia do this to you?" he asked suddenly.

"Of course not," Holly frowned, "she would never do that. Which reminds me, I do need to go back and apologize for some things that I said. But I swear to you that she would never hurt me. And there will be no future altercations. I will be sure to mind my tongue."

She smiled reassuringly at him, but it looked as if he wasn't buying it.

"I am walking you back to your cabin," he said after a moment's silence.

"Don't be ridiculous. You are working and I am more than capable of walking myself back," Holly replied.

"I don't care. I can't allow you to walk back by yourself," James said, walking back to tell Harry where he was going.

"James, you are on duty. Please put your job before this silly worry of yours," Holly begged him.

"If you want, I could take her back. I am about to get off duty anyway," Harry offered.

James considered him for a moment and then turned to Holly.

"Would you be okay with this?" he asked her.

She sighed but nodded nonetheless. Harry held out his arm to her and she reluctantly linked hers through.

"I hope I will still see you for breakfast?" James asked hopefully.

Holly turned around and smiled radiantly at him.

"Of course. I look forward to it," she replied.

He smiled at her and grabbed her hand, delivering a swift kiss to it. He blushed violently before turning around and walking away quickly. Harry let out a great laugh.

"He is ridiculous, that boy. I've never seen him act like that," he said as they began walking back to Holly's suite.

"Have you known him long?" Holly asked.

"Four years. He came to the White Star Line when he was 18, fresh out of school and looking to make some money for his family back home. Kinda took him under my wing, I did," Harry described proudly.

Holly smiled but said nothing.

"He really cares about you, you know. I don't really understand how or why, because you've only known each other for four days, and you've only been on speaking terms since last night," he explained.

"I don't understand it either, but I care for him deeply as well. He is the first person I've ever felt really comfortable around. I think it's because he was the first person to treat me as a person, and not a maid or someone of lower class. It's nice, to be seen as not someone to serve you, but rather an equal. And he was just so nice when he didn't have to be. He could have just sent me on my way and never thought of me again. I don't know, I can't explain it," Holly prattled on.

"I think you just did, love," Harry smiled down at her.

She looked up at him and returned his warm smile. They reached her suite and she turned to face him.

"Thank you for escorting me back here, even though I think it was completely unnecessary. I like to think we put James' mind at rest," Holly said.

"You are a very nice girl, Holly, and very insightful. I am pleased that Jamie found you. He really needs somebody in his life, and I am glad that it was you," Harry told her.

She blushed slightly and smiled.

"I need someone like him in my life as well. It seems we were lucky to find each other."

"Lucky indeed. Now, can I have your word that you won't leave this cabin by yourself? If only to put Jamie's mind at rest," Harry asked.

"Don't be absurd, Mr. Lowe. I must leave by myself. I am a maid and I will have to fetch things for my mistress," Holly laughed.

Harry looked torn, "Yes, I suppose you do. Well, make sure you don't go out more than you have to."

"I promise not to go out more than I have to," she smiled.

He returned the smile and waited until she was safely inside the suite before turning and leaving. She closed the door softly behind her and looked around. Olivia was nowhere in sight, nor was Tommy. Holly checked Olivia's room and her own, before looking out on their private promenade, and finally the bathroom.

"Where could she be?" Holly asked herself in a puzzled tone.

Then it hit her. Olivia said to make her choice about whether to go with them or not, and she had stormed out. What if that had been taken to mean that she didn't want to go with the two of them? What if she had gone off with Tommy, not to return.

_Don't be daft, Holly. She obviously meant to come back. She left everything here. She has to come back to keep up appearances until the end of the trip. Besides, if not, I can always_ _go and look for her in the third class tomorrow._

But the worry and doubt would not leave her mind and so, after sitting for an hour, she broke her promise to Mr. Lowe and headed out the door, in search of her mistress that was no doubt with the third class passengers.


	15. Chapter Fifteen: Olivia

_**Olivia**_

* * *

><p>"Where could she have gotten too?" Olivia asked, not even bothering to throw in the insult that was usually on the tip of her tongue.<p>

"I don't know. But she wouldn't have gone far, right? I'm sure she probably just went to the promenade to clear her head," Tommy replied.

"Unless she got snatched by that vile man," Olivia snarled, looking around the darkened deck.

"I am sure she is fine. Perhaps she went to visit that officer of hers?" Tommy suggested, trying to calm the girl in front of him.

"Yes, that is a good idea. She mentioned something about him being on duty this evening, so we should check the bridge," Olivia said, striding off in the direction of the bridge.

"I'll just stand back here while you ask," Tommy said, standing back a ways.

"Yes, good idea," Olivia replied.

She walked confidently to the bridge and stopped at the nearest officer.

"Excuse me, sir, but could you fetch Officer Moody for me? It is a matter of deepest urgency," she said.

"Uh, yes, of course, wait one moment," he stumbled, walking off to find him.

She had barely waited a minute when the two men reappeared.

"Ah, Miss Hamilton, what can I do for you?" Officer Moody asked, the shock of seeing her evident on his face.

"I would like to know if you have seen my maid, Holly. She stormed off quite some time ago, and I am rather worried about her," Olivia replied.

"Yes, she was here just a few minutes ago. Harry here just got back from returning her to your suite," he responded.

"She has returned to the suite?" Olivia clarified.

"Yes. I just saw her to your cabin, ma'am," the other officer, Harry, assured her.

"Alright then. Thank you, that will be all," Olivia turned to leave.

"Miss Hamilton, if I may be so bold as to ask, what happened to Holly?"

Olivia slowly turned back to face Officer Moody. It seemed as if the answer to all her worry had arrived.

"She was hit, good sirs, by a man called Michael Haim. He is a pursuer of mine, though by no means is his affections returned by me. I'm afraid young Holly tried to defend my honor against him, and he did not take lightly to her instructions to leave me alone," Olivia explained, adding a bit of a dramatic tone to her voice, though it was apparently not needed by the look on Officer Moody's face.

"Michael Haim, did you say? Not Allan Haim's son, surely?" Harry asked incredulously.

"I am afraid so, sir. He does not seem to understand that I am betrothed to another and have no desire to entertain him any longer," Olivia said.

"Did you- did you see this happen?" Officer Moody asked quietly.

"I didn't see it, but I was in the other room and I heard the altercation take place. I assure you, if you go to the master-at-arms, I will be able to explain what happened," Olivia added.

"I don't know if that would be enough. Mr. Haim is a very powerful man, and hitting a maid isn't really enough to get his son into too much trouble," Harry said, looking between the two of them.

"Yes, but what if I said I felt threatened by him?" Olivia ventured.

"Are you?" Harry asked, surprise on his face.

"Well if I wasn't before I surely am now! He assaulted my maid and he forced himself into my suite!" Olivia exclaimed.

"That would probably work. It would keep him occupied enough until the ship docks, which would keep Holly safe and then after that, she'll have you there to protect her, eh, Jamie?" Harry asked, bumping Officer Moody's shoulder with his own.

"That actually sounds like a good plan. As I am still on duty, will you accompany Miss Hamilton to the master-at-arms, Harry?" Officer Moody asked.

"Of course. Milady?" Harry asked, offering his arm to Olivia.

She looped her arm through his and they made their way out of the bridge and along the deck. She saw Tommy standing off to the side, in the shadows, and she was positive that if she hadn't already know where he would be, she wouldn't have seen him, so she wasn't worried about Harry seeing him.

'Follow,' she mouthed at him discreetly.

He dipped his head, which she took as a nod, and she and the officer continued on.

"I am sorry, sir, but I fear I don't know your proper title," Olivia said, looking up at the officer.

"Oh, I am Fifth Officer Harold Lowe. But Harry is fine," he replied, glancing down at her.

"You seem like you care for my maid as well, Harry," she said, the informal title feeling foreign on her tongue.

"I guess you could say I do. She is a very sweet girl, and I know that Jamie is absolutely crazy about her. In the four years I've known him, I've never known him to get this way about a girl. Which must mean she is special," Harry explained.

"Are you and Officer Moody close?" Olivia asked. She peeked behind her to see Tommy following discreetly.

"Yeah. I guess you could say we were like best friends," Harry replied.

"Well, as long as he is good to Holly, I have nothing but approval for their relationship. Not that it would matter if I approved or not, as Holly is free to choose whomever she wants, but I really do like him for her," Olivia said.

He smiled at her and they continued on in a comfortable silence. When they reached the master-at-arms office, Harry turned to her.

"Now, I don't mean to question your integrity, Miss, but you are quite certain that everything you've told us is true?"

"Of course it is! I'm not going to lie!" Olivia exclaimed, slightly offended.

"I just wanted to make sure. This is a very powerful man you are taking on, and there is no turning back after this," he replied.

Harry dropped her arm and knocked on the door. It opened a crack and they could make out an eye staring back at them. After a second the door opened wider and they saw a boy of about 14.

"Excuse me lad, but could you bring us the master-at-arms?" Harry asked politely.

"He is in the lounge with the other gentleman. Shall I run and fetch him?" the boy asked, his voice cracking slightly from puberty.

"Yes please. Tell him a Miss Olivia Mae Hamilton is waiting for him. He will know who I am," Olivia said.

"Would you like to come in and wait?" the boy asked, opening the door wider.

"Thank you," Olivia strode in and perched herself daintily on the chair. Harry followed at a slower pace.

"Would you like to come in too, sir?" the boy asked someone in the hall.

"Oh, um, well-"

Olivia panicked slightly at the voice of Tommy, but decided she could use another witness.

"Ah, Mr. Ryan, there you are! Come in, won't you?" she called out.

Harry shot her a confused look as Tommy walked in, looking nervously at the man in front of him.

"Mr. Ryan was returning something to me earlier in the evening when the altercation occurred. As soon as Holly stormed off, I immediately sent for him to help me find her," Olivia lied to Harry.

Harry nodded his understanding and smiled at Tommy.

"Harry Lowe," he introduced himself, holding out his hand.

"Tommy Ryan," the Irish man replied, nervously shaking the officer's hand.

Olivia sighed inwardly in relief, pleased that her lie had worked.

"Where were you when it happened?" Harry asked Tommy curiously.

"I-uh-was in the bedroom as well. We felt it might look bad if I was in the suite at all and that Mr. Haim might not understand, as he is clearly unstable," Tommy replied.

"Ah, yes. He does sound a bit like a stalker," Harry tossed a glance at Olivia.

They sat in a rather awkward silence, Olivia and Tommy passing glances secretly back and forth, and Harry looking around the office in interest. He was standing at a cabinet filled with keys when the master-at-arms walked in. He was an older man, with a large walrus mustache.

"Ah, Miss Olivia Mae, I was wondering when I would see you!" he exclaimed loudly, and perhaps a bit drunk.

"And what is that supposed to mean? You've been expecting for me to get in trouble?" she laughed lightly, going up and giving the large man a hug and peck on the cheek.

"Oh of course not. You never were one to get in trouble. You could talk your way out of anything, even when you were eight. My, how you have grown," the master-at-arms said.

"Yes, father says he misses your weekly poker nights. Hasn't been the same without them. I can see why," Olivia replied, laying on the charm thick.

"Oh stop it, you. Now, what can I do for you?" he asked.

"Not on my own terms, I fear. While I had been meaning to come down and see one of my father's oldest friends, I'm afraid that it is unfortunate circumstances that I am here. I have a stalker, and a rather fearsome one at that. He has been following me since I got on the ship, and while I thought to entertain him until the ship docked, tonight he assaulted my maid. You remember Holly, don't you?" she asked.

"That little tiny girl? Didn't really say much?" he asked.

"The very same girl. He forced himself into our suite and struck her when she tried to defend me. If I wasn't so frozen in fear, I would have run to her aid, but alas, I am not that strong. Now he has these delusions in his head and I am afraid it is my doing for leading him on," she left off a sob, covering her face in her hands.

Both Tommy and Harry looked on in amazement as the master-at-arms bent down in front of her, patting her gently on the shoulder and assuring her that it wasn't her fault, that some people were just wired wrong.

"Who is this boy? I must go and have a chat with him, and then place him under arrest," the master-at-arms said.

"That's where it gets difficult. He is the son of Allan Haim, and I fear he won't go down easily," Olivia replied, looking up at him with shining eyes.

A look of shock briefly passed his face before a warm smile replaced it.

"Now don't you worry your pretty little head about it. I'll take care of it, don't you worry. Now how about you get these men here to return you to your cabin, and I'll get everything sorted out in the morning. Does that sound all right?" he asked.

"That sounds wonderful," she replied, sniffing slightly.

He pulled out his handkerchief and handed it to her, and then helped her to her feet. He walked her to the door, the other two men following behind them, and the three left the office. After walking several paces, Tommy turned to her.

"Why didn't you tell us you knew him?" he asked.

"I didn't. I figured he would know who I was as I am the daughter of a very powerful man. I had no idea that he actually did know me," Olivia replied, wiping underneath her eyes to remove the makeup.

"So all that stuff about poker nights and your father's oldest friend?" Harry asked.

"I made it up. I can't believe it actually worked, but I suppose a lot of people would fancy themselves as a friend of my father," Olivia smiled at both of them.

The two men looked at her in shock once more, before deciding it was probably best not to question it.

"Well, now that that is settled, we should get you back to your suite. I daresay the night has been tiring and I have to be up early for my shift," Harry said to Olivia, his drowsiness confirmed by a long yawn.

"I can walk her back up, if you'd like. That way you can go ahead and get to bed. We still have to work out the terms of my reward for bringing back that lost item anyway," Tommy suggested.

Olivia gave him half a smirk before turning to Harry.

"That is perfectly fine. I wouldn't want you to be tired on duty tomorrow. Thank you so much for your help. I really appreciate it, and I know Holly will as well," Olivia replied, standing on her tiptoes and placing a kiss on Harry's cheek. He blushed slightly, mumbled a quiet "you're welcome," and headed off in the opposite direction, no doubt toward the officer's quarters.

"What a night," Tommy sighed, wrapping an arm around Olivia's shoulder once they were sure he was gone.

"Indeed. But now we have no more Michael Haim to worry about, and as Holly has returned to the suite, I guess that means she is willing to disembark with us. It seems that everything is working itself out," Olivia replied, leaning into him.

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><p><strong>Alright, updates are probably going to be coming just a little bit slower as I'm running low on prewritten chapters. Just finished 23 and if my estimates are correct, there should end up being around 32 chapters.<strong>

**Also, I'm not really a fan of this chapter. Idk why. **


	16. Chapter Sixteen: Holly

_**Holly**_

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><p>Holly sighed, sure she'd been down this hallway already. In trying to find the third class sleeping quarters, she'd wandered all through the halls and had no idea where she actually was, or even if she was still in the third class area at all. The white walls all looked the same to her, and she was almost positive that she had wandered into the second class area. She saw a man up ahead and rushed to catch up with him.<p>

"Excuse me sir, but could you tell me where I am at? I seem to have taken a wrong turn and gotten myself lost," she gave a nervous giggle.

"Certainly, my dear. You are very near the third class dining hall. Where are you trying to get to?" he asked, smiling kindly at her.

"I am trying to get back to the third class cabins. I've been here for four days and I still do not know the way to return to my cabin," Holly lied, smiling at him.

"Do you know your number? I can escort you there," the man replied.

"Oh, there is no need. Once I get to the cabins, I'll be able to find my way," Holly said.

He scrutinized her for a second before relenting.

"Very well. You go to the end of this hallway and take a left. When you get to the end of that hallway, take a right and you should be there," he told her.

She smiled at him in thanks and turned around, heading up the hallway and taking a left. Going down that hallway and skipping all the turns, she reached the end and turned right, finally coming upon the cabins.

Now that she was here, Holly realized that it would be an almost impossible task to find Olivia and Tommy without going and knocking on every door.

"What am I going to do?" she whispered to herself, sliding down the wall and pulling her knees up to her chest.

She wrapped her arms around her legs and tried to think of a plan, but soon found the day catching up with her and slowly her head fell onto her knees. She was asleep within minutes. She didn't know how long she was there, but suddenly someone was shaking her shoulder. She looked up in to the brown eyes of the Italian boy she'd had dinner with the previous night. He was kneeling in front of her, trying to peer under her bangs and into her eyes.

"Fabrizio?" Holly asked tiredly, rubbing her eyes.

"What are you doing down here? And alone? What happened to your face?" he asked all of these questions before she'd even had time to process that she'd been asleep.

"What?" she asked, looking up at him in confusion.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, slower this time.

"I was looking for Mr. Ryan and my mistress Olivia. Have you seen them?" she asked.

"No, why would they be together?" Fabrizio asked her.

She realized that he probably had no idea what was going on with them, as she hadn't even known until a little over an hour ago. But she didn't want to say anything, just in case they were going to be keeping this a secret until they actually disembarked the ship.

"No reason. I just need to find Tommy Ryan. Can you help me?" she asked, looking at him.

"I suppose. Follow me," he said, standing up and helping her to her feet.

They walked along the corridor until they reached a cabin in a different corridor. Fabrizio knocked on the door and Holly heard some shuffling in the room before the door open to reveal a man in probably his mid-thirties. He was leaning against the door frame, tiredly rubbing his eyes.

"Yeh?" he asked in a gruff Irish accent.

"Is Tommy in?" Fabrizio asked, shooting Holly a glance.

"Nah, he's been out all night. Not seen him since this mornin'," the guy replied.

"Alright, thank you," Fabrizio said as the man shut the door.

Holly's face fell, and obviously Fabrizio could tell.

"What do you need to see Tommy so bad for?" he asked.

"I just- I just do," she replied nervously, not sure of what to do now.

"Do you want to come back in the morning?" he asked the small girl.

"Um, no. I'll just wait here until he comes back," she replied, sliding down the wall beside the door.

Fabrizio looked at the small girl in pity before making up his mind. He sat down beside her in the hallway. She looked over at him, a confused expression on her face.

"What are you doing?" she asked him.

"I cannot possibly leave a young lady out here by herself at night. So I'll wait with you," he said, figuring that it couldn't be too long before Tommy came back.

"You don't have to do that," she replied softly.

He shook his head at her, smiling lightly. They sat in silence for a few minutes before Fabrizio turned to the girl.

"What happened to you lip?" he asked her again.

She was silent for a second and wasn't going to answer him at first, but decided he was being extremely kind and did not deserve to be ignored.

"Just a slight confrontation. Nothing extreme or anything," she replied.

"Was it your mistress?" he asked cautiously.

"Certainly not! She may seem unkind to me most of the time, but she would never lay a hand on me," she explained, slightly offended.

Fabrizio could hear the edge in her voice and decided to drop that line of questioning. He did, however, go back to his previous line of questioning.

"Why are you so desperate to see Tommy?" he asked her.

Holly again considered not answering him, but he was being so kind to her, and she was desperate to talk to somebody about it, and Fabrizio was Tommy's friend and so she figured he could be trusted. So she launched into the story about Olivia and Tommy, leaving out the parts that included herself and James, and also the parts that included Michael.

"And then, I don't know, I just got so angry at her that I left. But, I don't want to leave her, and when I went back to our suite to find her and tell her that, she was gone. So I have to find Tommy Ryan, because she will be with him," she concluded.

Fabrizio was in shock at the story, not believing that the snooty and snobbish first class girl could go from despising Tommy one minute, to abandoning her whole life and planning a future with him the next. He looked back down at the girl beside him to see her staring straight ahead, a dull look in her eyes. He could tell that she was exhausted.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll find her. In the meantime, you look very tired. Perhaps you should come back to my cabin and have a lie down? Jack is not back and probably won't be for a while, so there is an empty bunk," he explained.

"I couldn't possibly," she replied, though not very convincingly.

"Only for a few hours. You would be much safer in there than out here, and when you are rested, you will be more likely to find her than if you were dead tired," he persuaded.

In other circumstance, Holly would have adamantly refused, as it would be highly improper to be in a cabin alone with three grown men, but she was indeed very tired and Fabrizio did make a very valid point.

"Alright," she consented.

He smiled at her before standing to his feet and pulling her to hers, carefully leading her down the hallway to his own cabin.

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><p><strong>Alright, so I know this one is boring and short, and the next one is probably going to be as well, but the next Holly chapter, Chapter 18, is where the action starts. Just sayin'.<strong>


	17. Chapter Seventeen: Olivia

_**Olivia**_

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><p>"And then I made her climb the tree, and the poor girl couldn't get up it with her dress on, so I made her strip down to her undergarments and climb it. Well, as soon as she was up the tree, mind you, she was still small at that age, so I had to give her a boost up, but anyway, as soon as she was up the tree, my mother called for me, and I couldn't very well ignore her, so I left Holly up in the tree. I figured she could get down by herself. Well, a few hours later, she came into the house, soaked from head to toe. It had started to rain, and she was still stuck up in the tree. Luckily, a stable boy had heard her crying and came and helped her down. Oh, I had never heard her scolded by her parents before, but she got it that night. I actually felt bad that night," Olivia explained to Tommy as they walked around the steerage deck.<p>

"So you were ordering her around before she was even officially your maid," Tommy said, but with a smile so Olivia knew he was kidding.

"The poor girl. She's always done exactly as I've said from the day we met," Olivia giggled, thinking back to the time when she was six and Holly was merely five.

"You said she was scolded by her parents that night?" Tommy asked carefully, knowing full well that Holly's parents weren't around anymore.

"Yes. That was only a few months before they passed away," Olivia said, a sad tone taking over her voice.

"How did they die?" Tommy asked, voice low.

"Her mother got sick that winter and passed. Apparently her father couldn't take living without her, for he took his own life not a week later. Poor Holly was beside herself with grief. She was the one to find her father, you see. At first, she wouldn't do anything but lie in bed. She wouldn't eat, wouldn't speak, nothing. A few weeks after they passed, my parents were trying to figure out what to do with her, and almost sent her to the orphanage, but I wouldn't allow it. I begged and cried and threw probably the biggest tantrum of my life. She was only girl my age that I got on with, as she did everything I told her to. They finally appeased to my wants, and they made her my own personal maid. I fear her parents are the reason she doesn't say much," Olivia explained sadly.

Tommy finally understood some of the reasons behind the demeanor of the small girl he'd grown to like over the past few days, and honestly he felt horrible for her.

"It sounds like you really loved her, even then," he replied finally.

"I did. Even though I mostly thought I just wanted a life-sized doll to order around, I really do think I loved her then even. And now, she's become my closest, and only, friend," Olivia said.

Tommy smiled as he realized just how close of a relationship the two girls had. It seemed as if Holly would die for Olivia, and although only three days ago it would have seemed that Olivia would not do the same, he was slowly realizing, that she would in fact.

"It's getting late," he said, leaning down and whispering into her ear.

"Yes, I suppose I should be heading back. Lord knows Holly will be going insane at my absence," Olivia laughed lightly.

Tommy smiled at her and the two of them made their way back up the steps and away from the steerage area.

"It's such a clear night," Olivia said, pulling Tommy over to the railing to look out at the ocean.

She could feel his eyes on her, so she turned to see him smiling down at her.

"What?" she asked with a small smile, self-consciously patting her hair.

"You are so strange," he replied absentmindedly.

She wrinkled her nose in distaste, obviously offended. Tommy quickly tried to amend himself.

"Not in a bad way, of course. At first, I thought you were just like all the other first class girls around, perhaps even a little more snooty and spoiled. But you've certainly proved me wrong. Never in a million years would I have thought that we would be here together in this point in time. The whole situation is rather strange," he replied.

Olivia smiled, agreeing with his sentiments wholeheartedly. He grabbed her hand and pulled her away from the railing, walking back to her suite. They didn't drop each other's hands, as it was late and no one would be out to see them anyway.

They finally arrived outside of the suite and Olivia looked around quickly before opening the door and pulling Tommy inside after her. He looked surprised at the action, but followed her nonetheless.

"I couldn't give you a proper goodbye out there where anyone could see," she smiled, noticing his expression.

"What kind of goodbye?" he asked, smirking.

"This kind," she smiled back.

She stood on her tiptoes and pulled him down to meet her halfway. She planted a soft kiss on his lips, holding on to his shirt to keep herself balanced. He immediately placed his hands on her waist and pulled her against him. Her hands left his shirt and snaked to the back of his neck. She gently nibbled on his lip and he pulled away, smiling. She made a soft noise of protest as he leaned down to peck her on the forehead.

"Getting a little anxious, are we?" he asked, smirking at her.

She frowned at him before pulling away. He laughed at her and walked towards the door.

"I'll see you tomorrow, love," he smiled, opening the door and looking out to make sure no one was around before carefully sliding out, pulling it shut softly behind him.

She smiled at the door and turned to go to bed, completely forgetting to check on her maid as she had planned.

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><p><strong>Short, I know. But you get a little back story on the girls relationship, so yeah. And also, the action starts in the next chapter. I'm really nervous, but really excited. Are you excited?<strong>


	18. Chapter Eighteen: Holly

**_Holly_**

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><p><em>She was running, though from what she didn't know. She just knew that she needed to get away, and fast. She could see faces all around her, but there were no distinguishing features on any of them. The faces began to blur as she ran faster, morphing into one giant face, still with no features she could discern. Her legs began to burn as she pushed on. She raced around a corner and was suddenly met with a dead end. She turned around and pressed herself against the wall, waiting for whatever it was to catch up with her. She could hear a rushing sound coming closer and closer. She closed her eyes and braced herself for the impact of whatever it was. A thousand knives hit her body at once and she opened her mouth to scream before she realized that it wasn't knives, but water that swelled around her and enveloped her in its icy grip.<em>

Holly sat bolt upright, clutching her chest and trying to calm her rapidly beating heart. She looked around at her surroundings and was alarmed to see that she wasn't in her own room. There was a bunk bed across the room from her and that's when she realized she was in the top bunk of another set. The starch white walls shone brightly in the dark, despite there being no moon outside. That was when she remembered what had happened only a short time ago. She leaned over the side of the bed to see Fabrizio asleep in the bottom bunk. She pulled back and laid back down in the bunk, too tired to even try to return to her own room tonight. Surely Jack Dawson wouldn't mind her sleeping in his bed as he wasn't here and didn't look to be coming back tonight considering the late hour.

As she tried to fall back asleep, Holly turned her mind back to the nightmare she'd only just awaken from, which in hindsight was probably not the smartest idea before trying to recapture sleep. She tried to figure out what it could possibly mean. She had several theories in her mind by the time she was on the brink of sleep, none of which would make sense to a clear minded person. Just as she was about to fall back into the welcome arms of sleep, the ship gave a small shudder.

Holly was instantly awake again, sitting up and looking around as the ship continued to shudder for several seconds before falling still again.

"What was that?" she heard a groggy voice ask below her.

The two men in the bunk across from her started speaking back and forth to each other in a language she didn't understand.

"Jack?" Fabrizio called drowsily, having obviously forgotten about Holly being there.

"No, Jack isn't here, remember?" she said softly, leaning over and looking down at him.

He peered up at her through half lidded eyes before rubbing them and yawning, "Ah, yes, I remember now. Are you alright? Do you know what that was?"

"Yes, I am fine, but no I do not know what that was," Holly whispered back.

"Perhaps it was nothing? Maybe we should just go back to sleep," Fabrizio sighed, rolling over to face the wall, his back to her.

The men in the other beds were quiet now, which meant conversation was over. Holly sighed as she pulled herself back into the bed, laying down once more. She stared up at the ceiling for a few minutes, wide awake now. In the absolute quiet, she could hear a small trickling sound, which she had not heard before the shudder. Looking over the edge of the bed to the floor, she could see nothing at first. The light coming from the hall underneath the door sent a bit of light onto the floor, and looking closer, Holly noticed that the light was reflecting off the floor. Curious, Holly swung herself over the railing and onto the ladder, climbing down to the floor.

Dropping onto the floor from the last rung, Holly couldn't help a surprised shriek at the shock. There was at least two inches of freezing water on the ground.

"Holly?" Fabrizio asked worriedly.

Holly couldn't answer, only stare down in horror at the water.

"Holly?" Fabrizio tried again, this time sitting up in bed and looking at the small girl.

The other two men had been roused by her small shriek and were now angrily cursing in their own language, trying to get back to sleep.

"The ship is sinking," Holly said simply, looking up at Fabrizio.

"What are you talking about?" he asked in confusion.

"The ship is sinking," Holly said again, gesturing to her feet.

Fabrizio sighed, pulling the cover from his body and getting out of bed. His own cry of shock spilled from his mouth before a series of Italian curses flew from his mouth.

At that moment, the door burst open and a steward barged in, flipping the light on and pulling life jackets from on top of the small dresser in the corner.

"Everybody up put your life belts on," he called in a monotone before walking out the door.

By this time the other two men were sitting up and blinking in confusion. They hurriedly got out of bed and since they were closer, they made it to the life jackets first. Holly and Fabrizio reached them just in time to see that there were only two.

"Why are there only two?" one of the other men asked, his voice heavy with accent.

Each man held a life jacket and the four of them looked between each other slowly before the two men began to pull them on.

"Wait a minute, shouldn't you give one up to the lady?" Fabrizio asked, clearly shocked at the lack of manners.

"There is probably nothing wrong anyhow, why does it matter?" one of the men asked in broken English.

"Because she is a lady and it is only decent," Fabrizio replied.

The two men simply ignored him and walked out the door, leaving Holly and Fabrizio to stare in shock after them.

"There is obviously something wrong. There should not be water on the floor like this," Fabrizio said, stooping to find his shoes and encouraging Holly to do the same.

"Maybe a pipe burst or something?" Holly suggested, going over to the wardrobe and pulling out their shoes.

Fabrizio thanked her before sitting on the bed to put them on, "Yes, but weren't you just the one saying that the ship was sinking?"

"I don't know what came over me. I had just barely woken up from a bad dream and it must have been on my mind. There is no way the ship is sinking. It's unsinkable," Holly stated, sitting down and doing the same.

They got their shoes on and headed out the door, looking both ways in the hallway before deciding which way to go. Holly spotted a familiar head of curly brown hair to the left and nudged Fabrizio in that direction. He noticed as well and grabbed her hand, pulling her along behind him.

"Tommy! Tommy!" Fabrizio called out.

Tommy turned around and spotted Fabrizio. He stopped to wait for the two of them to catch up.

"Holly," he said in shock, noticing the small girl being tugged behind his Italian friend, "what are you doing here?"

"Looking for you, actually. Where is Olivia? I must speak to her at once," Holly said desperately, looking around for her mistress.

"She is back in her suite, as we both thought you were. How did you get down here? Why would you come down here?" Tommy asked as an afterthought, a scolding tone in his voice.

"I was ashamed of my behavior, and when I went back to apologize, you'd both already gone and I thought…" she trailed off, looking away to the side.

"No, we went looking for you. Oh this is just a big mess. Well, come on, the rats are going this way so that's good enough for me," Tommy said, reaching down and grabbing the hand that Fabrizio had dropped, pulling Holly along behind him.

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><p><strong>I am so so so so sorry this is so late! I haven't had internet so I haven't been able to update! I'm actually at my dad's right now using his computer, and I don't get over but every so often. So I don't know when the next one will be. I am so sorry. So sorry. <strong>


	19. Chapter Nineteen: Olivia

**_Olivia_**

* * *

><p>Olivia was on the verge of slumber when she heard a soft knock on the outside door. Figuring Holly would get it, she rolled back over and tried to go back to sleep. The knock came again and the door opened.<p>

"Miss Hamilton?" a soft voice called.

She sat up in bed and blinked in confusion. She climbed out of bed and put her dressing robe on over her night dress. She opened the door to her bedroom to see a young steward peering around the suite.

"Can I help you?" she asked, pulling her robe closer around her body.

"Ah, yes, I've been told to ask you to please put on your lift belt and come up to the boat deck," he said, walking over to the closet in the corner room and pulling several life belts down from the top shelf.

"Whatever for?" Olivia asked in confusion as he brought them over to the couch.

"Just a precaution. It is quite cold. May I suggest a top coat?" he asked.

"Oh, yes, of course," Olivia said as he walked back over to the closet and grabbed her black fur overcoat.

He handed it to her and bid her a good evening, stepping out of the door and closing it behind him. Olivia hurriedly pulled on her overcoat and went over to the other bedroom.

"Holly?" she called, knocking softly on the door, "Holly, I know you're still mad at me, but our presence has been requested on the boat deck. What for, I don't know, but we must go."

When there was no reply, she gently opened the door and peered inside.

"Holly?" she called, a little more worried as there didn't look to be anyone in the room.

She reached over to flip the light on and her suspicions were confirmed. The room was completely empty.

"Now where did that stupid girl go?" she asked herself, walking out of the bedroom to leave the suite.

When she reached the boat deck, Olivia was surprised to see no passengers there, only crewmen getting the boats ready to be lowered into the ocean.

"Excuse me," she said, stopping the nearest steward, "I was summoned from bed to be up here on the boat deck, and now that I am here there are no other passengers around?"

The steward looked at her in surprise, obviously having not expected her before he replied, "They were asked to step inside, ma'am. It is far too cold out here."

He showed her to the door that led inside and opened it for her. She thanked him and stepped inside to see hundreds of first class passengers milling around, all looking bored and rather tired. She looked around for an empty chair on the top floor, but saw none so she decided to descend a floor or two to look for one. When she reached the bottom of the first set of stairs, she saw Mr. Andrews talking to Mr. Hockley and his fiancée Rose. She started to walk over to them, sure he'd know what was going on in this fiasco. When she'd almost reached them, she noticed the stricken looks on all of their faces. Mr. Andrews turned and walked away from the two of them quickly. Olivia watched him pass before finishing her walk over to the two first class passengers.

"What is going on? It seems like a madhouse around here," Olivia said, looking around at all the people.

Mr. Hockley turned to look at her with a troubled look on his face, while Rose stayed facing forward, her hand over her mouth in shock.

"What is it?" Olivia asked Mr. Hockley, a look of worry crossing her face.

"It appears the ship is sinking," he said quietly.

"I'm sorry?" Olivia asked in shock, not daring to believe the words that had just come from his mouth.

"I can scarcely believe it myself, but I've just heard it straight from Mr. Andrews himself, and I can think of no reason why he wouldn't know, or why he would lie," Mr. Hockley said, a look of disbelief still on his face.

Olivia watched as he and Rose walked away, back over to Mrs. Dewitt Bukator. She didn't know what to do or believe. She had no reason to doubt Mr. Hockley, but this ship couldn't sink. It was impossible. All the papers had said that it could not sink.

She spent several minutes standing in the same place on the steps, people bustling past her and knocking into her, but she couldn't bring herself to move. She decided that it simply wasn't true, that Mr. Hockley must have merely misheard Mr. Andrews, and decided to make herself comfortable in one of the available chairs.

After perching herself in the chair, she let a serene smile grace her features as she looked around at all the other first class passengers. Some seemed rather worried at being woken up in the middle of the night and asked to come to the boat deck in a life belt, others looked simply annoyed, and others still looked indifferent, as Olivia herself was. True, she was a little worried about where Holly could possibly be, but honestly, the girl was probably with her officer friend, so there really was no need to worry.

She saw Michael Haim across the way with his father, a bored look gracing his handsome features as his father talked to John Jacob Astor. His normally slicked back hair was slightly disheveled from sleep, and if anything, it made him all the more handsome. Any passerby would see him as the beautiful rich man that he acted like, but Olivia could see right past the handsome visage. She turned her head slightly and pulled the collar of her coat up to try and hide herself from him so he wouldn't come over here. She knew he could do nothing to harm her in front of all these people, but she did not want to run the risk, just in case.

After about 15 minutes of sitting in the hall, the crewmen started calling the passengers back out onto the boat deck. Olivia peered over her shoulder to see Michael go ahead with his father before she stood herself and walked out. She watched him follow after Mr. Hockley's party, so she went in the opposite direction, toward the bow of the ship. She felt herself walking at a slight angle, but thought nothing of it, figuring it was sleep deprivation.

She could hear the band start up somewhere behind her, and coming from in front of her was a voice calling for the passengers to step towards him. She walked a little bit further and beside the man talking was Harry Lowe. She couldn't pay attention to a word the other officer was saying, and when he was finished, she tried to call out to Harry.

"Mr. Lowe! Mr. Lowe! Harry!" she finally called, waving her hand above her head.

He looked up in confusion before he spotted her.

"Miss Hamilton, if you and Holly will please step this way," he said, reaching over a few people's heads out towards her.

"Harry, what is going on?" Olivia called back.

"I think you know the answer to that, Olivia," Harry said gravely, gesturing down to their feet.

She looked down, and sure enough, there was a steady decline of the ground below them. She looked back up at him in horror.

"So it's true? It's really sinking?" she asked in a shocked voice.

"I'm afraid so," he said quietly as he finally pushed through the crowd to get to her.

He looked around for a second before turning back to her.

"Where is Holly?" he asked in confusion.

"She- she wasn't in the suite when I woke up," Olivia answered.

"What do you mean she wasn't there? I told her to stay put when I left her," Harry said in anger, though at Holly or the situation Olivia wasn't sure.

"I have to go find her. She must have gone off to find me when she realized I wasn't there. I have to go find her," Olivia repeated, turning around to go back into the ship.

"No, Olivia, wait! You must get on a boat now," Harry said, grabbing her arm and pulling her back.

"No, no I have to go find her. She could be in trouble," Olivia replied, trying to shake his hand off.

"No, you don't understand," Harry said, pulling her back and turning her around to face him and looking around before leaning in and continuing quietly, "there are 2,200 people on board this ship, and there are only enough life boats for half that amount."

"What are you saying?" she asked, fearful of the answer.

"Half the people on this ship are going to perish tonight," he said bluntly, a grim look on his face.

"Well I will not let Holly be one of those that do!" Olivia shrieked, clawing desperately at his hands that were gripping her upper arms.

"Listen, calm down, will you?" Harry called out, shaking her slightly, "She was probably just clearing her head on the promenade. She is most likely on the other end of the ship, getting into her own boat by the stern, alright? And if you try to go down there and look for her, you will most assuredly miss one of those boats, and I cannot guarantee that a place will still be available down here. So you should just get on a boat now, and you can catch up with Holly later, alright?"

Olivia looked up at him, tears in her eyes, not wanting to leave without knowing Holly was safe, but not wanting to miss a boat either.

"Do you promise she will be safe?" she asked him, her voice cracking slightly.

"Olivia, you know I cannot make that promise," Harry said softly.

She looked down, tears beginning to fall down her cheeks slowly.

"I cannot leave without her," she replied just as softly, looking up at him.

Harry shook his head before he lifted her off her feet. She shrieked in surprise as he carried her over to the boat. She screamed at him to put her down as he set her in the boat that was already going down.

"I'm sorry," she saw him mouth as the boat was lowered.

"I hate you! How could you do this to me? I can't leave her! How could you let me leave her?" Olivia sobbed, trying to stand up and make her way back over to the ship.

The lifeboat was already several feet down so all she managed to do was to rock the boat a bit, causing the other passengers to shriek and pull her into a sitting position. She looked back up at the ship to see Harry gone.

Olivia dropped her head into her hands and sobbed, not caring who saw or heard. She vaguely felt someone pull her into them, and she instead turned her face into their shoulder and sobbed, thankful for the human contact for one of the first times in her life.

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><p><strong>Whoa, okay, that was intense yo. <strong>


	20. Chapter Twenty: Holly

_**Holly**_

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><p>"Come on, this way," Tommy said, pulling Holly along behind him.<p>

They made their way down a hall where there were several people milling around. They passed a steward handing life belts out, and Tommy grabbed one and quickly pulled it on himself, not even looking back to see if the others got one. He'd apparently grabbed the last one, because the steward was empty handed and kept walking in the same direction he was already going, probably to get more life belts. Holly didn't mind not getting one though, because it'd be harder to move around in and she still wasn't sure what was going on.

When they reached the middle of the hallway, a staircase that led up was blocked by a crowd of people. Holly tried to stand on her tiptoes to see what the hold up was, but at her small stature, could not see over most of the people.

"Stay here," Tommy murmured as he pushed through the crowd and up the stairs.

Holly looked around at all the people standing in the hallway and spotted a mother with her two young children. The little boy pulled on his mother's dress.

"What are we doing, mummy?" he asked quietly in a little Irish accent.

"We're waiting, dear," she said, "When they've finished putting the first class people in the boats, they'll be starting with us, and we'll want to be all ready, won't we?"

The two children smiled and nodded at their mother, who looked back up towards the people on the stairs. Holly caught her eye and she gave Holly a small smile, although it was a rather sad one, as if she didn't believe her own words. Holly turned to look for Fabrizio and saw him standing a few feet away from her, looking up the steps at Tommy, who was trying to reach the top to see what was going on.

A little ways down the hall, Holly saw a few stewards and several men opening one of the doors that led out of the ship. Reaching over to tug on Fabrizio's shirt, she pointed in that direction. He saw what she was looking at and quickly the two of them made their way through the crowd to see what was going on. Holly stood back as Fabrizio pushed through the men to look out the door.

"Alright, get back," one of the stewards called, trying to shut the door.

"What is going on?" Holly asked as Fabrizio came back over to her.

"Can you not feel what is going on? You yourself said it but a half hour ago," Fabrizio said, standing back and waiting for the crowd to disperse so they could get back through to the stairwell.

"No, I just had a dream. That wasn't real," Holly said, looking up at him.

"Holly, do you not feel the ground slanting? The ship is sinking, and sinking fast by the looks of it out there. The boats look to be all gone," Fabrizio said quietly, pushing back through the crowd.

Holly followed him, grabbing onto the back of his shirt so as not to get lost.

"Jack!" he called out suddenly, rushing forward and dragging Holly along behind him.

"Fabrizio!" a voice called back.

Holly dropped his shirt as he rushed forward to hug Jack Dawson, who had just arrived in the hallway with Rose Dewitt Bukator. Tommy was back down from the top of the stairs and the four of them stood in a group, trying to figure out what to do. Holly looked around in fear, wondering what all these people were still doing down here when the ship was sinking. Did they know? They must have, because now that Holly actually thought about it, it was quite obvious that the ship was at a decline.

"What is she doing here? And what happened to her face?"

Holly looked forward to see Jack gesturing towards her, as he and Rose looked at her in confusion.

"Long story, mate," Tommy replied.

He reached down and grabbed her hand and the five of them made their way through the throng of people.

"Where are we going?" she asked quite loudly, trying to be heard over all the people.

"We're looking for a way out. A way through the gates," Tommy replied quickly.

"Gates? What gates?" Holly asked in confusion.

"The gates they've got blacking the stairwells to keep us down here like animals," Tommy practically growled.

Holly had no time to ponder this shocking statement as they arrived at another stairway. The five of them climbed it and reached another gate, this one on the ground floor.

"Go back down the main stairwell and everything will be sorted out," one of the stewards on the other side of the locked gate was saying.

Jack pushed his way to the front, "Open the gate."

"Go back down the main stairwell," the man repeated.

"Open the gate now," Jack said again, this time more urgently.

"Go back down the main stairwell like I told you," the man simply said.

Jack sighed and turned around to look at the four people behind him before facing the gate again. He grabbed the gate and started shaking it, screaming a variety of swear words that Holly had only heard coming from the fellow servants around the Hamilton household, and only when they were in an extremely foul mood.

He turned around and pushed through the people standing at the gate. He walked over to a bench that was nailed to the floor.

"Fabri, Tommy, give me a hand with this," he said as he started to pull it from the floor.

Rose looked at all the people in front of the gate.

"Step aside," she called, trying to move people away from it.

With the help from a few other men, the three boys managed to pull the bench loose and off the floor. Holly pressed herself against the wall so they could get passed her with it.

The steward on the other side of the gate was screaming at them to put the bench down but they paid him no mind, instead thrusting the bench at the gate several times before knocking it down.

Jack moved across the bench, turning around to receive Rose as Tommy help her across. Fabrizio went after her, and after him, Tommy made sure Holly was across before going himself. They walked in a single line away from the gate as other people started to follow them.

"You can't do this! You can't do this!" the little man with the keys was saying.

Holly heard skin come in contact with skin and didn't need to turn around to know that Tommy had punched the little man down. They kept walking and soon found another stairway that led up, and after following several twisting hallways they finally came to a door. Going through the door, they found themselves on the boat deck.

Holly was in shock to see how much of the boat was under water at this point, and how much chaos was going on out here. People were screaming and shoving each other around trying to find a boat.

"The boats are all gone!" Holly heard Rose cry.

Holly stepped forward to look down the edge of the boat, and sure enough there looked to be no boats on either end of the ship.

"Come on. Old man says there are some down here," Tommy said, pulling her along towards the bow of the ship.

The five of them ran down the side of the boat, eventually passing the band that usually played at dinner time out on the deck, trying to keep people calm apparently.

"Music to drown by. Now I know I'm in first class," Tommy joked, turning to Fabrizio as they were running.

They finally reached a crowd of people huddling around a boat, all of them trying desperately to get on. Holly could clearly see that there were too many people and the five of them would never get on it together.

"Women and children only!" the officer in front called, trying to get order of the crowd.

Everyone was desperate to get on the boat, and Holly screamed in surprise when he let off a warning shot from his gun.

"Women and children only!" he called again.

Jack turned around, "You gotta check the other side. Go!"

Tommy looked at him for a second before he and Fabrizio pushed back through the crowd. Holly looked for a second at the crowd and turned to follow the two of them. She easily caught up with them, as they hadn't gotten very far, and grabbed onto Tommy's arm, trying not to get lost in the overwhelming crowd.

He spun around and a look of surprise crossed his face as he caught sight of her.

"What are you doing? Get back over there with Jack and Rose," he said, trying to push her away and back towards the other boat.

"There are too many people. I would never get on that boat. I have a better chance of going to the other side to look with you," Holly replied.

She knew this wasn't necessarily the truth, but for some reason she felt compelled to stay with him.

"Oh alright, let's hurry then," he sighed, turning around and pulling her after him.

They hurried to the left of the ship, going closer to the bow than before. She peered over one of the low walls and saw water pouring over the edge of the boat. They decided to cross through the bridge, it being the only way to get across to the other side of the ship at this point.

"Sir, you can't come- Holly, what are you doing here?"

Holly looked up to see James looking at her in shock, not expecting her to be there. He looked down at her hands, and she could see jealousy flit across his face as he saw hers and Tommy's intertwined.

"James!" Holly cried, dropping Tommy's hand and flinging herself at him, pulling him into a desperate hug.

He seemed surprised and slowly wound his arms around her.

"What are you still doing here? Why do you not have a life belt? Where is your coat?" James asked, pulling her away to get a good look at her.

She watched his eyes trace over her form, seeing them linger for a moment longer on her split lip.

"It's a long story. Do you know of any more boats?" she asked quickly, remembering what they were there for.

"I think there might be some over there. Murdoch is loading one of the last ones, if you hurry," James said, pulling off his coat.

"What are you doing?" Holly asked in confusion.

"You'll surely freeze to death in that little thing," James said, gesturing to the simple dress she was still wearing from earlier in the day.

She argued with him as he wrapped it around her shoulders but he ignored her, simply pulling it tighter around her.

"Now go. If you hurry, you should be able to make it onto the last boat," James said, looking to Tommy and Fabrizio.

They both nodded and Holly turned to James.

"And what of you?" she asked quickly.

"I've still got a few things to take care of before I get my turn to leave. But there is a boat already reserved for officers that I will be able to catch before the ship goes down."

Tommy and James shared a significant glance, though about what she couldn't be certain.

"Are you sure you'll be alright?" she asked, looking into his eyes.

He gave her a soft smile, "Of course. I'll be fine."

He kissed her forehead and gently pushed her towards the two other men.

"Take care of her, will you? See that she gets on a boat," he said to Tommy and Fabrizio.

Tommy reached down and grabbed her hand once more, "Aye."

They ran towards the other side of the ship, Holly sparing one last look back at James before turning a corner and disappearing from sight.

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><p><strong>Oh my gosh, I am so sorry. Like so sorry. Thank you to everyone who has commentedsubscribed since I last updated. **


	21. Chapter Twenty One: Olivia

**_Olivia_**

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><p>Olivia woke with a start. She raised her head from the shoulder she'd been leaning on to see a woman in her mid-fifties peering at her with a look Olivia had never seen before. After a second, she realized it was pity.<p>

"Who did you leave, love?" the woman asked softly.

"My ma- my best friend," Olivia whispered.

"Aye, I left me husband and me 15 year old son. I suppose 15 isn't a child anymore, is it?" the woman asked sadly, looking off behind Olivia.

Olivia turned around and gasped at the sight before her. The Titanic was sitting in the water at a slight angle, the bow completely disappeared underwater.

"How long was I asleep?" Olivia asked, turning around to look at the woman.

"Five minutes at most. To be honest, I had only realized you'd fallen asleep when your sobs stopped," the woman said, laying a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Olivia looked back to the ship and wondered if Holly had gotten off safely. She had no idea where the stupid girl could have possibly been when the ship was hit, or whatever had happened, and therefore had no idea if she had gotten onto a boat or not.

"Was it just you and your friend, dear?" the woman asked.

Olivia opened her mouth to reply when she realized she'd spared no thought at all to Tommy. The woman must have seen the look of horror cross her face, because she quickly grabbed her hand.

"No, I was with my… fiancé. We were to be married once we reached America," Olivia replied, swallowing thickly.

"I'm sorry, dear," the woman said honestly, grabbing Olivia's hand and patting it.

Olivia looked down and closed her eyes. She looked back up at the old woman before looking back at the ship. She could hear screaming in the distance and wondered if one of those scared shrieks was Holly.

"It will do no good to think about them right now dear. You just have to assume they got off on a different boat. You'll drive yourself insane otherwise."

Olivia looked back to the woman to see her staring up at the ship herself.

"And the same to you," Olivia replied softly.

They spent the next 20 minutes in complete silence, the only sounds coming from the ship and the people in the water.

"What is your best friends name?"

Olivia looked over at the woman to see her still looking at the ship, although when she felt Olivia's eyes on her, she turned to look at her.

"Holly," Olivia replied.

"That's a nice name. Were you friends long?" the woman asked.

"Yes, for about 8 years now," Olivia said, thinking back on their relationship.

At first she thought of all the fond moments together, but slowly her mind began to drift to all the cruel things she'd done to Holly in the past. All of the times she'd been intentionally mean, or disrespectful, or tried to embarrass the poor girl on purpose.

"I fear I haven't been as appreciative of her as I should have been," Olivia whispered sadly.

"You can't think of the bad times, darling, only the good," the woman said, patting Olivia on the shoulder.

"I fear there weren't enough good times to dwell on. I was just a horrible person to her. And now I'm never going to see her again," Olivia started to cry.

The woman hushed her as she brought her into a hug, patting Olivia on the back and giving her the comfort she needed. They stayed locked in their embrace for several minutes before Olivia pulled away and wiped her eyes.

"Thank you," she said sincerely, "I feel I needed that more than I knew."

"It's okay. Comforting you distracts me from the pain I'm sure to feel in the morning," the woman admitted sadly.

"I wonder, if it's not too much to ask, what were your husband and sons names?" Olivia ventured.

"Ask me in the morning," the woman smiled sadly, looking away from Olivia.

Olivia was silent for a second, peering at the older woman in confusion.

"If only you'll tell me," Olivia started, "perhaps I can help you in the same way you've helped me."

"Dear, I'm not as brave as you. I'm not ready to face my pain yet."

Olivia nodded and looked away. She could hear the people in the water screaming and screwed her eyes shut tightly, hoping to drown the sound out with her thoughts. She fantasized about what her life would have been like with Tommy when they finally reached the United States, when they ran away and had lots of children. Holly would come over with James, and they'd let their little boys play outside together, while the girls stayed inside and played dress up with some of Olivia's old dresses that she never sold. Tommy and James would sit in the living room and discuss the job market, while Olivia and Holly would gossip in the kitchen, Holly teaching Olivia how to get the chicken to just the right temperature.

Holly would go outside to call the little boys in, while Olivia would go and help the little girls change out of their dresses and inform the men that supper was ready. Tommy and James would set the table, and they would all sit down and enjoy the meal together. After supper, Holly and Olivia would do the dishes while the men would take the children into the living room and tell them wonderful stories about pirates and buried treasure. After they were finished cleaning up, they would join everyone else in the living room to hear the end of the story. Olivia and Tommy's children would whine about going to bed as Holly and James packed up their own children, saying goodbye for the night and heading to their own place, which was only a block away in the bustling city of New York.

After the children were asleep and James and Holly gone, Olivia and Tommy would crawl into bed together and fall asleep in each other's arms, reminiscing about the way that they met and discussing plans for the future.

Olivia was suddenly broken from her thoughts by a surge in screaming from the people still on the ship and in the water. She turned to look at Titanic and watched in horror as the stern began to break away from the bow, the ship splitting right down the middle before the stern began to fall right back towards the ocean. The lights still on flicked on and off for a second before finally going out, basking the environment in darkness and allowing Olivia to see no more.

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><p><strong>So, that fantasy kinda made me cry a bit. Not sure why.<strong>


	22. Chapter Twenty Two: Holly

_**Holly**_

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><p>They raced around the corner and down the side of the ship several feet. Holly saw a crowd of people surge forward quickly and Tommy pulled her towards them. They pushed their way through the crowd and came to a low rising wall. Tommy helped over it before he and Fabrizio jumped over it themselves.<p>

They saw several officers and stewards trying to get one of the collapsible boats down with oars underneath it, though they weren't being very successful about it. Finally, the oars supporting it broke and it fell to the deck, very luckily on its bottom, facing up.

One of the officers, Murdoch if she wasn't mistaken, started shouting orders to get it hooked into the davets so it could be lowered into the ocean, though by the look of things it wouldn't need to be as the ocean was steadily rising closer and closer to the top edge of the ship.

A crowd of people were trying to get closer to the boat, pushing everyone at the front closer and closer.

"Stop pushing!" Officer Murdoch shouted, trying to get all the people under control as the other members of the crew worked quickly to get the boat hooked in.

Finally Murdoch pulled out his gun and pointed it at the crowd, repeating his same warning from before.

"Give us a chance to live you limey bastard!" Tommy shouted at him, pulling Holly slightly behind him and away from the gun.

"I'll shoot any man who tries to get past me! Get back!" Murdoch shouted frantically, panic filling his eyes.

Holly felt someone push past her and was shocked to turn and find Mr. Hockley, hair and clothes disheveled and looking quite worn out.

"Get back!" Murdoch shouted at him as he tried to come closer to the boat.

"We had a deal, damn you," Mr. Hockley said, still trying to push his way forward.

Murdoch reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a wad of bills, throwing them in Mr. Hockley's face, "Your money can't save you anymore than it can save me. Now get back!"

He pushed Mr. Hockley back, who went stumbling into Holly. She held her hands up against his back to try and balance him so he wouldn't knock the two of them over. With Mr. Hockley and Tommy in front of her, she could no longer see what was going on in front of them.

A man jumped forward and tried to jump in front of the crowd and Holly was shocked to hear a gunshot ring out. Mr. Hockley backed into her once more and before she knew what was happening, another gunshot rang out. Suddenly she was on the ground, having been knocked down by Tommy falling to the floor. At first she thought he'd just been surprised and tripped, but when she saw Fabrizio kneel down beside him and start screaming at Officer Murdoch did she feel a wet sensation underneath her leg, though a rather warm one instead of the freezing one of the water.

She looked down and saw a bright red staining the skirt of her dress. Looking forward, she saw Fabrizio cradling Tommy's head and screaming profanities at Officer Murdoch. She crawled forward and saw a bright red stain standing out against the pure white of Tommy's lifebelt. When she looked at his face, she was terrified to see the same bright red coming from his mouth.

"No," she whispered, reaching forward and touching the red spot on the lifebelt.

She barely registered the sound of a third shot going off, and only when she heard a shout of "Will! No!" and the sound of a splash did she look up. Officer Murdoch was nowhere to be seen and by the looks of the crewman looking over the side of the boat Holly could only assume that he'd taken his own life.

Holly looked over at Fabrizio, panic in her eyes. She didn't know what to do now that Tommy was gone. He seemed to be the leading force, and now she felt lost. Fabrizio held Tommy for a minute longer before he started pulling off his life belt.

"Stand up," he commanded once he had it off.

Holly immediately did as was told and Fabrizio began putting the life belt on her, tying it securely and making sure it was tight and wouldn't fall off. The water surged faster around them and in seconds was up to their knees.

"Get in that boat," Fabrizio instructed as he finished securing her in the lifebelt.

Holly did as she was told and climbed inside the boat, ending up sitting beside Mr. Caledon Hockley himself. Holly was extremely confused to see a crying little girl in his arms. She couldn't think on it for long, however, as so much was going on around her.

"Cut these lines!" One of the crewmen was shouting, talking about the boat she was in.

The water was coming up to fast and the boat needed to be cut away or it would sink with the ship. Fabrizio went to work cutting on one of the lines while several other men cut some of the others. The water was rising quickly and it looked to Holly as if they wouldn't cut it on time. In a matter of seconds, the boat was being overturned by the surging water. Holly saw Mr. Hockley hand the little girl to another woman as he stood up on the side of the over turning boat, careful not to get himself wet. Holly scrambled to the other side of the boat and tried to do the same, climbing up on top of what would have been the officers' quarters. She lost sight of Fabrizio and suddenly felt very lost, being on her own for the first time since the ship started sinking.

She ran over to the other side of the building and peered over the edge, seeing one of the collapsible life boats upside down in the water, a few men and women on top of it and several more scrambling to get up there as well. The water was rising steadily higher and Holly had no idea what to do. All the other boats were gone and the one she was just in was floating away, the bottom of it filled with water and just barely afloat. She decided her best chance was to try and get over to the one that was overturned and get on the top of it with some of the other people.

She looked down over the side of the small building to see that the water was only a few feet from the top, and would soon be at her feet in seconds. She made the plunge into the water and let a shriek of pain filled surprise escape. She had known the water would be cold, but feeling it all over her body was a whole different kind of pain than she'd been expecting.

For the first few seconds she could hardly move, her body in too intense of a pain to respond to anything her brain was telling her to do. When she'd adjusted, or at least become numb to the pain, she began to slowly make her way over to the small boat. Holly heard a loud groaning behind her and turned to see one of the four smoke stacks on top of the ship falling towards the water. She could see people in the water trying desperately to get out of the path of the giant metal cylinder, but before they could move even feet, it crashed to the water on top of them, surely killing them all instantly. The wave from the impact sent Holly pitching forward, towards the overturned lifeboat as luck would have it.

The boat surged forward as well, away from the sinking ship. Many people had been taken out by the smoke stack, so the number of people scrambling towards the small life boat had diminished significantly. Holly made her way over to the upturned boat. There were several men on top of it, including an officer of the Titanic, though one Holly was unfamiliar with. She was suddenly at the boat, though in the big black overcoat James had given her, and with it being soaking wet, she could not pull herself up.

"Here," a voice said, a hand coming out in front of her.

Holly grasped the hand and the arm attached and they worked together to get her on the underbelly of the boat. She looked over at the person who had helped her and saw a young man, probably in his early twenties at the most.

"Thank you," she replied breathlessly, sitting back slightly.

He nodded and looked back at Titanic. Holly looked as well and saw that they were quite a ways away from it, the wave from the previously collapsing smoke stack pushing them out quite a bit. She looked out around them at the water and surprisingly there weren't that many people around them, most of them being closer to the sinking ship and not realizing the lifeboat was there.

There were several people actually sitting on the boat, including herself, the officer she had seen before, and the boy who had helped her up. Many more were clinging to the bottom of the boat, trying desperately to stay afloat. The people on top of the boat turned back and watched at the horror before them as the Titanic slowly slid into the Atlantic Ocean.

Holly closed her eyes and covered her ears, trying frantically to drown out the sounds of people screaming. She could not block out the great cracking sound that came next, however. She opened her eyes slowly and watched as the Titanic slowly broke in two, the stern falling back into the ocean for several seconds before the sinking bow pulled it upright again.

It did not take long for the second half of the ship to succumb to the ocean. In scarcely five minutes, the stern plunged all the way into the ocean and Titanic was no more.

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><p><strong>Sorry this one took a bit. This one was really hard to write, and I kinda almost cried a little bit. I hate killing people off, and this one just made me super duper sad.<strong>

**Anyway, thank you to everyone who reviewed/added to alerts. I haven't been on in a really long time, so I can't remember if I replied to any/all of them.**


	23. Chapter Twenty Three: Olivia

**_Olivia_**

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><p>"Robert and Daniel."<p>

Olivia looked up to see the older woman looking out at where the Titanic had been only minutes previously.

"Their names. My husband was Robert. My son was Daniel," the woman explained.

"What are they like?" Olivia asked, making sure to use present tense.

"Men, mostly. Robert is a carpenter. We were on our way to America because we heard there was work over there in the States. Daniel is just like and 15-year-old. Ornery. Mischievous. Constantly dirty," the woman laughed.

Olivia smiled at the thought of the boy. It was easy to drown out her pain when she was thinking of the other woman's life. So she listened to her talk more about her son and husband, concentrating very hard on the stories being told. She was so deep in thought, in fact, that she didn't even notice the dwindling number of screams until the woman stopped talking.

She couldn't get the eerie feeling out of the pit of her stomach that something wasn't right, though she wasn't exactly sure what it was. There was no moon out tonight, so it was rather hard to see anything past the edge of the boat. Not that there was anything, as they were quite a bit away from where the ship went down and just as far from the people in the ocean still. It was then when she realized what was so eerie, and the creepy feeling in her stomach turned to one of nausea.

"Why is it so quiet?" she breathed out, looking to the other people in her boat.

Everyone looked at her sadly, as though they knew something she did not. Deep down she knew exactly what was wrong, she just chose not to admit it to herself.

"They must have gotten used to the water, then? It's not so cold now?" she asked, reached over the side of the boat and sticking her hand down into the water.

She hissed in pain as she recoiled her hand from the freezing water, bringing it to her chest to try and bring some feeling back into it.

"Well, I suppose I would not be used to it then, as I have not been in it for so long," Olivia said simply, sitting back into the boat with her hand still clutched to her chest.

She ignored the pitying stares on her and tried to focus on the thought of Holly in her own lifeboat, snuggling up to James as they shared the warmth from his thick wool jacket. Once that image was burned into her head, she had no trouble believing that was what had actually happened. Next, she chose to focus on Tommy, knowing for sure that he was in his own boat, maybe even the same one as Holly, laughing and joking with that Italian boy and Jack Dawson.

She smiled to herself and settled back into her seat, off in her own little fantasy world while the other passengers stared at the young girl in pity, the silence engulfing them much more deafening than the screams from before.

The crippling silence was finally broken by the sounds of several lifeboats converging around the one Olivia was in. Not as if she was paying attention. She only looked up when she heard a familiar voice.

"Alright, I want all the women from this boat to go into these other boats. Tie them together with this and just wait until I get back. I want the men in my boat."

She looked over to see Harry Lowe directing the different passengers into different boats.

"What's going on?" she asked the woman beside her.

"They're loading the ladies into other boats and getting the men into that one so they can go and look for survivors," she replied, looking sadly over at Olivia.

"I want to go with them," Olivia said at once.

She stood up and made her way slowly over to the side of the boat where Harry was busy trying to fasten the boats together for the time being.

"I want to go with you," she said quickly.

Harry looked up, startled at first, then looked back down to his task at hand.

"No way. You need to stay here," he replied, not looking at her.

"I can help. And I need to find Holly. I need to make sure she's safe," Olivia tried to reason.

"You won't be any help. You're cold, you're tired, and you'll just get in the way, no offense. We need as much room as possible for survivors, and I only want to bring people that will for sure be of some use to me. As for Holly, if she's out there, I'll find her. Now I need you to please, sit back down and wait, okay?" he finally looked up at her, and she could see the truth in his eyes.

"Alright. I'll stay," she whispered, turning to walk back over to her seat.

At the last second, she turned around and walked back over to Harry. She pulled him against her so they were hugging over the side of both of their boats. He was surprised at the gesture, but wound his arms around her back eventually.

"Bring her back. Please," Olivia whispered into his collar.

"You have my word," Harry said, pulling back from her and smiling.

She gave him a watery smile and returned to her seat, confident that if anyone could find her, it would be him.

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><p><strong>This one is a little short. Sorry. I can't remember how long the next one is either. But here you go. And I tried to upload this like two days ago but FF wouldn't let me log in.<strong>

**Looks like Olivia might be in denial. I don't know why, but that part was really hard to write. I think that would be me in a situation like that. **


	24. Chapter Twenty Four: Holly

_**Holly**_

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><p>It was a short time later that the screaming slowly dwindled down until finally there was nothing but silence surrounding the few people on top of the over turned lifeboat. Not that Holly took any notice. Her teeth chattered harshly, and she was sure that if it continued much longer they would fall out. But she could not control the chatter and therefore stayed silent, sitting in between two men that she didn't know.<p>

The man on her left was the boy who had pulled her up onto the boat, and the man to her right was someone she'd never seen before. Both men were staring off into space, not paying the girl next to them that was slowly freezing to death.

Holly wrapped her arms tighter around herself, trying to bring some extra warmth into her body. It seemed futile, though, for the wet clothes weighing her down seemed like they wouldn't be drying any time soon. But her arms were too stiff and her mind too numb to even attempt to take the lifebelt off or the thick wool coat that James had given her.

And so she sat in the mind numbing cold, oblivious to her surroundings. Her hair was starting to crystalize with the freezing water that was still dripping from it. She was shivering so severely that she felt as if it went down into her bones. She knew that if she stayed here in this situation much longer, she would surely die.

After a while, she became so numb to the cold that she started to doze, her head falling forward so that her chin rested on her chest. In what felt like seconds, she was being shaken awake by the boy on her left.

"The boat is coming back, miss," he said excitedly.

She tried to smile at him to show that she too was excited, but she couldn't make the muscles in her face work.

"Don't bother with that one, lad. She's not going to make it. We need to save space in the boat for the people that will," one of the other people on top of the boat said.

Holly tried to protest, but found that her mouth was too heavy to speak and her thoughts too complicated to process.

"She's still alive! We can't leave her! Once she gets warmed up, surely she'll be fine," the boy protested.

"He's right. We can't leave her. Even if she will die, we can't leave her while she is still alive," a woman's voice called out.

"Mark my words. She'll be dead before we're rescued, maybe even before that lifeboat gets back. Look at her, she's barely breathing as it is," the first man said.

"I don't think so. The Carpathia was only a few hours out. They will be here soon, within a few hours," the boy defended.

"How could you know that? For all we know we could be out here for days before we're rescued," another man piped up.

"I received the message myself! I am one of the telegraph operators, and I received the word from the Carpathia myself, saying they were four hours out," the boy replied angrily.

That seemed to satisfy them for the moment and the boat descended into silence once more. Holly wanted to turn and thank the boy who defended her, as he had once again saved her life, but found her mouth still too heavy to speak. He saw her trying to vocalize and smiled, scooting slightly closer to her so their bodies were touching. She instantly felt a tiny bit warmer from his body heat.

She turned her head to look out at the ocean and saw a small light in the distance. She scrunched her eyebrows up in confusion, wondering what it could possibly be. A frightening thought passed through her mind, afraid that it might be that white light you were said to see before you die.

"It's one of the other boats coming back for us," the boy told her, obviously sensing her confusion.

She nodded meekly and watched the light, waiting for it to get closer. After an agonizingly long amount of time, the boat had almost reached them.

"Alright over there?" a familiar voice called, but Holly's mind was too frozen to recognize it.

"Most of us are. You got enough room in there for us?" the first man who had said to leave Holly called.

"How many you got?" the boat called back.

The man craned his neck and counted his fellow passenger's, "21."

The boy next to her must have counted too, because he angrily called back, "22."

The man shook his head at him.

The boat was silent for a second, "Well which is it?"

"There are 22 of us, sir. Do you have room for all of us?" the boy called out.

The boat came closer so that whoever was in the boat could see the passengers on top of the boat.

"I'm sure we can make room," the man in the boat said.

"There is no point in taking that girl. She is not going to make it," the first man insisted.

"What girl?" the man in the boat asked.

"This one, sir. She is frozen, but alive," the boy said, glaring that the man on top of the boat.

Holly felt a light cross her face.

"She comes," the man in the boat said at once.

"But she- we need room for-" the first man tried to argue.

"She comes," the man in the boat said with finality.

Holly still couldn't put a face to the voice, even as she was gingerly passed over to the lifeboat and sat down on one of the benches. The man commanding the boat went back over to help the other passengers into the boat, and cramped and packed, they all fit. He crossed back over to her and sat down beside her.

"Holly?" he asked, pushing some of her hair away from her eyes and peering into her face.

Holly looked up and finally recognized Harry Lowe. She smiled lowly and pressed her face into the crook of his neck, trying to absorb some of his body heat. He wound his arms around her and rubbed her back, trying to warm her up a little.

"We should probably get this coat off of you. It's soaked and not letting you get any warmer," he said.

He pulled her away and went to go take off her life jacket.

"What happened?" he exclaimed suddenly.

Holly looked down and noticed the big blood stain marring the white life jacket. All at once the memories of Tommy came rushing back. Her emotions from the whole night came spilling forth at once and before she knew what she was doing, she was sobbing unrestrainedly into Harry's shoulder.

He awkwardly patted her on the back, assuming that she was not hurt, physically anyway. He let her cry for a few more minutes before pulling her away from him, taking the life jacket off of her, followed by the over large wool coat that looked suspiciously like an officer's coat, her sobbing all the while.

A woman to the right of him looked at Holly sympathetically and handed over the blanket wrapped around her shoulders, as she was completely dry, just cold. Harry nodded at her in thanks and wrapped the blanket around Holly's thin frame and pulled her back to him to let her finish her crying.

She finally cried herself to sleep and the rest of the passengers were left to wait for the morning to come, the occasional hiccup from Holly being the only thing to break the otherwise silent atmosphere.

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><p><strong>I'm sorry this is so late. I kinda just had a really bad death in my immediate family, so I've kinda been distracted with other things. Um, I don't know when the next one will be out, but it shouldn't take as long as this one. I'm sorry.<strong>


	25. Chapter Twenty Five: Olivia

_**Olivia**_

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><p>Olivia stepped on to the deck of the Carpathia with the help of the steward standing next to the ladder. She immediately looked around the survivors already on the ship but realized she was among some of the first to be rescued from her lifeboat. Another steward immediately came over and took her name, handing her a blanket and asked her to follow him. He led her up some stairs and she realized that all of the survivors of Titanic were still be separated by class. She stopped in her tracks and turned back around, going back down to where the other survivors were, not even bothering to tell the steward. She sat down on a bench beside an older woman with her two children. She tuned them out and watched as slowly but surely, the other people were rescued from the lifeboats.<p>

Before she knew it, she was being shaken gently awake. She opened her eyes and blearily peered around, trying to focus on the person waking her up. She finally focused on a young stewards face, looking at her curiously.

"Excuse me miss, but perhaps you would be more comfortable laying down on one of these cots?" he gestured to the make shift beds behind him.

She shook her head and stood up. Or tried to, anyway. She swayed on the spot and the steward reached out his hands to steady her, making sure she didn't fall flat on her face. She thanked him quietly and looked around the deck.

"Has everyone from the lifeboats been collected?" she asked him.

He nodded his head and held out his clipboard wordlessly. She scanned through the names, from _Jane Moore _all the way down through _Hayes Mooney._ But she didn't see Holly's name anywhere. But she also didn't see Harry's name anywhere either, and she knew he was alive, so it gave her some hope. She scanned through the list again, double checking and looking for Tommy's name as well, which she also didn't find. She was disheartened, but kept a little bit of hope alive.

She handed the clipboard back to the steward without a word and strolled through all the people currently on the deck. She peered at everyone's face, looking for anyone that was even slightly familiar. But since she was in the steerage area, she didn't recognize anyone. So she made her way over to the nearest bench and sat back down, trying to plan her next course of action.

She could go up to the first class area where she was supposed to be, and look around up there. But that required moving, and Olivia was having a hard time with that thought. She was starting to feel incredibly tired again, and honestly thought about taking that steward up on his offer of the cot, if only for a few minutes.

"There you are! I've been looking everywhere for you, you know!"

Olivia snapped her head up to see Harry Lowe standing in front of her, peering down at her with a small smile on his face.

"Where is she?" Olivia asked at once, taking the smile on his face to be good news.

"In the hospital wing. But I have to inform you," he said, grabbing her arm to make her stop as she'd immediately began to walk away, "she's not in the best of shape and should probably not be overwhelmed right now."

Olivia opened her mouth to argue with him, telling him that she knew all of this, but decided against it. She knew that he was worried about Holly as well, and lashing out at everyone would not make her better.

So she followed Harry up some steps and through some corridors as her led her to the hospital. When they reached a pair of double doors, he stopped outside them.

"She's just inside there. In the third bed from the back. She tired, worn out, upset, and sick. Please, just be gentle," Harry said.

Olivia nodded and pushed open the doors. The nurse at the front stopped her, asking what she was there for. Olivia explained and the nurse nodded, gesturing her head towards the back of the room. Olivia walked past her and walked towards the bed she knew her friend was in. When she reached it, she gasped.

Holly couldn't have been more pale, her face hardly standing out against the white of the pillowcase behind her head. Her lips still had a bluish tint to them, making the split in the bottom one stand out even more. She had harsh red rings around her eyes, making them an even more startling blue than they normally were. Olivia stepped closer to the bed.

"Hey," she said quietly, not knowing what else to say.

"Hey," Olivia was shocked at how raspy Holly's voice was.

"How, how are you?" Olivia asked stupidly.

Holly smiled at her, but it didn't reach her eyes. She gestured to the chair beside her bed and Olivia immediately went and occupied it. She stared at her friends face, wondering what on earth had happened to her. She started to look around the room, her heart aching for Holly. She then spotted the life jacket on the floor beside the bed.

"What happened?" she asked frantically, picking it up and gesturing to the bright red stain on the front of it that looked suspiciously like blood.

She looked back to Holly, whose bottom lip was quivering dangerously. Before Olivia knew what was happening, Holly burst into tears and was doing her best to explain everything that had happened that night, starting with her storming out of the room and finishing with being brought onto the lifeboat at the end of the night. Olivia missed a lot of it, as it was hard to discern the words through Holly's sobs, but she got the gist of it. She also got that the blood wasn't Holly's but Tommy's.

"So, Tommy- he-" Olivia broke off, not able to finish the sentence.

"I'm-I'm so sorry, Olivia," Holly hiccupped.

Olivia blinked her eyes rapidly and forced a fake smile on her face, "It's not your fault dear. No need to worry about it any longer."

"What about you?" Holly asked, "What are you going to do now?"

Olivia kept the forced smile on her face, "Let's just concentrate on getting you better, and then we'll worry about me, alright?"

Holly looked unsure, but nodded anyway. Olivia stood up, telling Holly that she was going to find someplace for them to stay after Holly was released and headed towards the exit. She knew that Holly wouldn't be released from the hospital before they docked in New York, but she needed a few minutes to herself.

She walked out of the room and brushed right past Harry Lowe, ignoring his attempts to try and talk to her. She hurried up the corridor and around a corner, making sure she wasn't followed in the process. When she was sure no one else was around, she clutched her hand to her chest and tried to calm her rapid breathing. She slowly slid to the ground, her sobs coming full force as she buried her face into her knees.

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><p><strong>Thank you to everyone who reviewedalerted to this story last time. And thank you for the condolences. **


	26. Chapter Twenty Six: Holly

_**Holly**_

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><p>Holly sighed, wanting nothing more to get out of the stupid bed she'd been in for the past day and do something. She was unbelievably bored and currently there was no one there to keep her company. Olivia was off doing whatever and Harry had to go and discuss things with the other officers. And since they were the only two people she knew that survived, Holly was alone.<p>

Once again, she found her mind wondering to James. Harry and Olivia would tell her nothing, though it wasn't for lack of trying. Every time she saw them, she asked about him and they always answered with that same sad smile, telling her he'd be to see her shortly.

She wondered if he'd gotten off the ship safely. He'd said that there was a separate boat for officers, but Harry hadn't been on that boat. But she could only assume that some officers had to go with different boats to keep order. So she waited to get better, having nothing else to do.

She was interrupted from her thoughts as Harry walked into the hospital. Her face lit up with delight as he walked towards her bed, smiling.

"Hello," she said as he sat down in the chair beside her.

"Hello, my dear," he replied.

"Where is Olivia?" Holly asked in confusion.

Usually they visited together.

"She stayed back in her room today. She was feeling most unwell," Harry replied sadly.

"And James?" she asked, expecting the same reply.

Harry sighed heavily, "Holly, there is something I must tell you…"

Holly sat up a bit straighter in her bed, peering intently at Harry. She studied his face, but could see nothing other than stress.

"What is it?" she asked, not sure if she really wanted to know the answer.

"Holly, James' name wasn't on any survivor list…," Harry trailed off uncertainly.

Holly instantly knew what he meant and slumped back in her bed. She'd assumed that he probably hadn't made it, but she still had that small hope every time they'd say he would be to see her.

"Why- why did you lie to me?" she asked in a small voice, tears prickling her eyes.

"Olivia didn't, well, she didn't want you to worry about him. She wanted you to concentrate on getting better first and didn't want to stress you out even more," Harry replied.

"I- I thought you were my friend. How could you lie to me? How could you give me such hope when you knew there was none, only to take it away when you thought I was feeling better? How-?" Holly buried her face in her hands, a few tears spilling out.

"I am your friend," Harry said at once, "which is why I'm telling you now. I'm sorry, Holly. You were just so upset about that boy dying, and I just didn't want to make it worse-"

"How does this make it any better?" Holly interrupted, looking up at him with tear filled eyes.

He looked unsurely at her, afraid of what to say to make it better. She peered up at him, her eyes such a startling blue that it was hard to look away.

"You should probably leave," she finally mumbled, looking away from him and down at the blanket wrapped around her legs.

He nodded silently and stood up, turning away from her. He suddenly turned back.

"I am sorry, Holly. He was my best mate, you know," he said sadly.

Holly nodded without looking at him and waited until his footsteps finally receded. She then buried her face in her hands and cried.

A few hours later, Holly was staring at the wall boredly as Olivia walked in by herself. Holly ignored her as she sat down in the chair and pulled it closer to the bed.

"How are you feeling today?" Olivia asked.

"Fine," Holly replied shortly.

Olivia made a face but Holly paid her no attention. They spent the next few moments in an awkward silence, Olivia not sure what to say and Holly not really wanting to talk anyway.

"So, I hear we'll probably be in New York in two days," Olivia said casually.

"That's nice," Holly replied blankly.

"Alright, what is wrong with you?" Olivia asked finally.

"I don't know. I guess I'm a little bothered that my best friend lied to me," Holly said sarcastically.

"Harry told you?" Olivia asked sharply.

"Like he needed to when it was always "he'll be to see you soon". Did you just think I was stupid or something? Why would you lie to me like that? How could you lie to me like that?" Holly asked, her voice raising slightly.

"Because I didn't want you to have to feel the pain I was feeling!" Olivia replied hotly.

"Do you think it makes it better when I'm under the impression that there's hope and you just pull that out from under me?" Holly cried.

Olivia didn't answer, too angry to even form words. Holly wasn't sure if she was mad at her or not, but for once in her life Holly found that she didn't really care.

Olivia slumped back in her chair with her arms crossed over her chest, pouting. They didn't say anything for the next half hour and when the nurse came to tell them that Holly needed to rest, Olivia jumped out of her seat and left without a word.

Holly slumped back onto the bed, tears prickling her eyes. Suddenly, Olivia stormed back into the infirmary, the nurse hot on her heels. She strode over to the bed and pulled Holly into a tight hug.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," she cried into Holly's shoulder.

Holly barely registered that this was the first time Olivia had apologized to her. She could only focus on the fact that she was hugging her. Actually hugging her.

"It's alright," Holly replied, almost confused, as she wrapped her own arms around Olivia's back.

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><p><strong>I'm sorry this one is so short. And late. But anyway. Thank you to everyone who reviewedadded to alerts!**


	27. Chapter Twenty Seven: Olivia

**_Olivia_**

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><p>Olivia looked out at the harbor with a heavy heart. Out there somewhere were her parents and her new fiancé. She would be meeting him for the first time today, and she was very anxious. Since she found out that Tommy had died, she had no other choice but to go through with the wedding. She couldn't very well leave without a plan, and so she was stuck.<p>

She left the top deck and made her way to the infirmary, going to check on Holly's progress. Her young friend had finally recovered after four days of being in the hospital wing. Today, they would leave the Carpathia together more than what they were when they left England. No longer were they mistress and maid, or even friends. No, today, they would be leaving as sister's almost, the bond they now shared unbreakable.

Olivia walked into the infirmary to see Holly sitting on the edge of the bed, laughing at something Harry, who was sitting in the chair beside the bed, was saying. Olivia walked over to join them.

"Hey, Liv," Holly said when she saw her.

Harry looked up at her and smiled as well, making to stand up and offer her his seat. She waved him off with her hand, gesturing to him to stay seated. She perched herself on the edge of the bed beside Holly.

"We're getting ready to dock. I'm sorry you had to miss the first glimpse of New York," Olivia said to Holly sincerely.

Holly shook her head and smiled, "It's fine. I will be seeing it rather soon, I suppose."

"Well, if you like, we could go up there now?" Harry suggested.

"That would be wonderful, thank you Harry," Holly smiled at the older man.

He grabbed her hand and helped her stand from the bed, only letting go of her hand to turn around and help Olivia just the same. Together, the three of them made their way out of the infirmary. Since they'd lost everything in the sinking, Holly had nothing to take with her except for the large wool coat she seemed to have an unusual attachment to. The nurse had tried to rid the girl of it when she'd first been brought in, but the young girl refused, only calming down when she was assured she could have it back. Olivia didn't see what was so special about the coat; it was rather large and mostly ruined since it had been in the water for so long.

She'd hardly been paying attention and when she looked up, she realized she'd lost Holly and Harry in the crowd. Sighing, she looked back to her feet and didn't look back up until she had run into someone.

"So sorry," she mumbled, not bothering to look up.

"Miss Hamilton?"

Olivia's head snapped up, not daring to believe the voice was really there. But sure enough, when she looked up, she was staring into the warm brown eyes of James Moody.

"J-James how- what- no! You were dead! Your name wasn't on the survivor list!" Olivia exclaimed.

James looked at her in confusion, "I gave my name the second I came onto the ship. I was one of the first rescued. I've been looking for you and Holly for four days! Speaking of which, where is Holly?"

Olivia ignored his question, going over in her mind the survivor list in her head. Granted, she wasn't looking for his name, but surely she would have noticed it had it been there. Suddenly, she burst out into a peal of laughter. James looked at her as if she'd grown an extra head.

"Hayes Mooney. You're Hayes Mooney. I remember it was the last name on the list and I thought it was a rather odd name, but it makes sense now! They must have misheard you when you gave your name!" Olivia laughed.

James cracked a smile and suddenly Olivia felt a hundred times better.

"Come, good sir, for we must go and find our friends," Olivia smiled at him.

He returned it and together they walked up to the top deck, looking around for their two best friends. James tapped Olivia's shoulder and pointed. Olivia turned to see Harry and Holly looking over the side of the ship, Harry pointing at something below and Holly listening intently. Olivia and James made their way over to the pair.

"Holly, Harry, I have a surprise for you that I think you are going to quite like," Olivia said, barely being able to contain her excitement.

They both turned around to face her and it was almost comical how fast their facial expressions changed from confusion to relief and then to pure and unadulterated joy.

"James!" Holly whispered happily, throwing herself into his arms and burying her face into the crook of his neck.

Harry was grinning at his best friend so widely that it looked as if his face would split in half.

"How- I don't understand," Holly tried, pulling back but staying firmly locked in James' arms.

Olivia launched into the story about how she had seen the name 'Hayes Mooney' on the list and how the steward must have misheard James.

"So you been here all along, mate? Where you been?" Harry asked, clapping his hand on the younger man's shoulder.

"Looking for you three, actually. Where have you been?" James shot back playfully.

Harry's smile dropped slightly for a second, looking over at Holly in concern, "Hospital. This one almost got herself killed in that freezing water. Thankfully there was a big strong man there to save her life."

James looked at Holly in surprise, scrutinizing her face to see if there was any lasting damage, before turning to Harry with a smile and thanking him.

"No problem. Now, how did you manage to- you know?" Harry asked, having a hard time with the word 'survive'.

"I was in the water as the ship was going down. Somehow, I'm not even sure how, I got close enough to one of the surrounding lifeboats and they pulled me aboard as I was alone," James explained, his arms still wrapped tightly around Holly's waist.

He smiled down at Holly once more and she smiled right back at him. Harry and Olivia watched on as the two continued to snuggle. It brought a warmth to Olivia which she could not describe. It didn't last long, however, as the warmth was replaced by a coldness. Olivia stared at Holly and James and thought about her own love. How Tommy had died, probably died saving Holly- _NO!_ Olivia pushed the thoughts away before they'd fully formed.

She turned back to the group to see Holly and James in their own little world still and Harry looking at her in concern.

"Everything okay?" he asked.

"Of course. Just thinking how my wedding won't be the only upcoming one," she smirked at Holly and James, who didn't seem to hear her. She frowned at the wasted joke but then she heard a laugh to her left.

"I suppose not. I wonder if they'll be able to hold off until we disembark," he said with a smile.

"We disembark in twenty minutes," Olivia said in confusion.

"Exactly," Harry smirked.

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><p><strong>Yeah, that just happened. I had the ending of this planned a completely different way, but it didn't seem fair for both of them to have their "love interest" die. And plus, I've kinda grown an attachment to James. Like, I know he was a real person and everything, but his personality is obvious subjective as I've never met him, so it's kinda like he's my own creation. I don't know if that makes sense or not, but the point is, I couldn't bare to let him die. So I hope no one is offended by that. Anyway, thank you for the reviewsalerts/favorites!**


	28. Chapter Twenty Eight: Holly

_**Holly**_

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><p>Holly smiled as she followed Olivia off of the ship. She knew that it was probably in bad taste, but she simply couldn't help it. James was alive. She could still hardly believe it. In fact, she kept expecting to wake up and find that this had all just been a wonderful, yet cruel, dream.<p>

She kept looking around for James, and then remembered that he had some stuff to take care of with Harry first and that he would meet her again later in the week. She honestly didn't know how she was going to cope for several days without him. Now that they had been separated and Holly had been under the impression that he had died, she wanted to spend every waking moment with him.

"Where are your parents meant to be?" Holly asked Olivia as they finally reached the ground.

"I'm not sure. I think they are sending a driver. Although, that might not be the case anymore after… what happened," Olivia trailed off.

Holly nodded and both girls looked around the large crowd of people but gave up after about five minutes as there was really no use in trying to find them.

"Miss Hamilton?"

Both girls looked up to see an older man in probably his fifties had pushed his way to the front of the mob and was peering down at her curiously.

"Yes?" Olivia asked politely.

"Good, I am here to pick you up and deliver you to your parents," the old man said, smiling kindly.

Olivia smiled and nodded, but Holly could tell she was a little hurt that her parents hadn't come for her personally. She knew that they were aware she was alive, as a message had been sent through the Carpathia message system to them, but it still would have been nice to see them there. Both girls followed wordlessly behind the older man until they reached a sleek black car. He opened the door for the both of them and they slid inside.

"It might take a bit longer to get to your home, as they streets are quite crowded," the old man said as he slid into the front seat.

Olivia nodded but again said nothing. The rest of the car ride was spent in silence, and in a little under an hour, they reached a rather large townhouse. The little old man exited the car and opened the door for the two girls. They both stepped out and immediately headed into the house. Olivia made her way to the parlor room, where she knew her parents would be, and Holly made to go off into the kitchen.

"Stay with me."

Holly turned around to see Olivia clutching her arm, looking at her rather scared, as if afraid that if Holly left she'd never see her again.

"Oli- Miss, I hardly think that is proper," Holly corrected herself rather quickly. She had to remember where she was now.

"After everything we've been through, you're reverting back to that?" Olivia asked, disgust present in her voice.

"Olivia, it doesn't matter what we've been through. Your parents did not go through it with us, and therefore they would not understand," Holly told her gently.

"Just- just come into the room with me. Stand against the wall if you have too, just come with me. I fear I don't have the courage to face this alone," Olivia smiled sadly.

Holly returned the small smile and together they made their way into the parlor. They'd barely made two steps in before there was a shrill scream.

"Oh, Olivia Mae! I've been so worried!" Mrs. Hamilton flung herself at her daughter.

Holly took a step back to observe the room. Besides Olivia's parents, there was a young man in his early twenties, who Holly could only guess was Olivia's fiancé. Beside him was a man in his late forties and a woman who looked almost identical to the young man, besides being a woman, who Holly could only assume was his parents.

Mrs. Hamilton fawned over her daughter for several more minutes before introductions were finally made, in which Holly was proven right. Henry Wellington stepped forward and grasped Olivia's dainty hand in his rather large one.

"My dear, I am terribly sorry for what you've had to go through. I only wish we were meeting under less tragic circumstances," he said, his suave voice soft and rather comforting.

Olivia nodded her head with a polite smile. She turned to her mother.

"Mother, I am terribly sorry for being so impolite, but I fear I am rather exhausted. Would it be alright if I were to go have a nap?" she asked.

"Of course, dear, of course. Holly!"

Holly snapped to attention as the Wellington's looked over at her, having just noticed she was in the room.

"Yes ma'am?" Holly asked politely, stepping forward.

"Take Olivia up to her room and make sure she is quite comfortable for her nap. Get her out of these dreadful rags," Mrs. Hamilton said disdainfully, looking at the dress Olivia had received on the Carpathia in disgust.

"Yes ma'am," Holly curtsied and followed Olivia out of the room.

"Well that was exhausting," Olivia said loudly when they were in the hallway.

"Sh! I'm sure they can still hear you!" Holly said frantically.

"I don't care. Come on, let's go find my room. I don't know how she expected you to know where it was when you were on the ship with me. It's like she forgot you were there," Olivia said, walking up the staircase.

"She doesn't care about my wellbeing. I'm surprised she remembered my name," Holly grumbled, following Olivia up the stairs.

Olivia laughed, "I am surprised as well."

They reached the landing of the second floor and began opening doors, looking for one that looked like it might be Olivia's. The third door they opened looked promising. The room was large, with a large bed on one side of the room and a vanity directly across from it. There was a dresser in there as well, and two doors which Holly assumed was a bathroom and closet. There were two chairs with a small table in between them and a balcony on the opposite side of the room. There was also a small couch at the end of the bed, facing the room.

Olivia stepped in and immediately began stripping off the clothes she was wearing. Holly went to go rifle through the dresser, looking for something that Olivia could slip on to nap in. She finally found something and turned around to hand it to Olivia, only to find her already asleep in the bed in her undergarments, laying on top of the blanket. Holly smiled and shook her head before walking over to the bed and pulling the covers out from under her friend, pulling the back over her. She then made her way over to the couch at the end of the bed and sank into it, pulling her legs up and falling asleep as well.

* * *

><p><strong>I am utterly disgusted with myself for keeping you waiting so long. For serious. But where I'm staying right now doesn't have internet or even a computer so it's really hard to come across a chance to writepublish. I can promise you that it won't be as long next time. Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed/alerted/favorited and anyone who is still reading. You guys are the light of my life!**


	29. Chapter Twenty Nine: Olivia

**Olivia**

Olivia Mae Hamilton looked at herself in the mirror. She really was the picture of perfection. Her blonde curls fell across her shoulder in pristine ringlets, with her dress being just the right shade to bring out what color in her skin that she hadn't lost in the last week. The only thing that was amiss was the dull shade of green her eyes seemed to be as of late.

"I don't know that I can do this," she sighed, not breaking eye contact with her reflection.

Holly said nothing, busying herself with trying to find matching jewelry.

"I said, I don't think that I can do this," Olivia said louder, not taking lightly to being ignored.

"I heard you the first time," Holly mumbled, not looking up from the jewelry box, "I don't know what you want me to say."

"I honestly don't know what I want to hear," Olivia sighed, turning to look at Holly.

Holly finally looked up from the jewelry box. She looked at Olivia before sighing.

"Nothing I can say will take the pain away," she finally said.

Olivia scoffed, "And what do you know of pain?"

She immediately regretted her words when she saw the hurt look on Holly's face.

"Sorry," she said meekly, avoiding Holly's eyes.

Holly straightened up, "It's not your place to apologize, miss."

It was Olivia's turn to feel hurt at the formal tone of Holly's voice but she said nothing. She turned around and faced the mirror again, smoothing the nonexistent wrinkles from the front of her dress.

Holly got the matching set of jewelry to go with the dress and finally Olivia was ready.

"Sorry," Holly mumbled.

"Don't apologize," Olivia replied.

She made her way across the room and out the door without a backwards glance. She strode into the parlor moments later to see her fiancé sitting with her father.

"Miss Olivia Mae, you look lovely," Henry said, greeting her halfway and placing a kiss on her hand.

She smiled her thanks and together they proceeded to the door.

* * *

><p>It was an awkward lunch, to say the least. Henry Wellington could not find words to say to her that he didn't think would upset her. He obviously could not ask her how her voyage was. He knew the close bond she had with her maid must have been sealed on the tragic voyage they shared together. He could not ask her of the high society people she had been acquainted with on the ship, as a number of them had perished on the journey. So he settled with sipping his coffee, peering at her over the rim of his cup.<p>

Olivia could feel his eyes on her but she ignored it. The one good thing about almost dying was that she no longer put much stock into what people thought of her.

So they sat in an awkward silence until their dinner plates had been cleared away.

Olivia cleared her throat awkwardly, "Thank you for the wonderful lunch."

Henry smiled at her handsomely, "Thank you for joining me. Especially so soon after...," he trailed off awkwardly.

She could hardly tell him that she had no choice in the matter, that she'd been coaxed, or rather forced, into it by her mother. Not when he looked at her with his deep brown eyes so full of life. It was a painful reminder that her own green orbs did not hold that same light anymore.

"It was my pleasure," she smiled softly at him.

He grinned at her and stood from the table, stepping over to pull out her seat for her. She stood and hooked her arm through his outstretched elbow.

He walked her home in silence. When they reached her stoop, she turned to face him. She didn't know what to say, only that she had to say something to make the date less horrible. He beat her to it, however.

"I really enjoyed your company today. I understand that you are not yourself at the moment and might not ever be, but if you'll still have me I will be the best husband I can be for you," he said, all in one breath.

_If only he knew,_ she thought sadly, as she looked upon his nervous face.

"Until we meet again," she smiled, leaning forward to place a soft kiss on his cheek. It was extremely forward of her, but she felt it was the least she could do after he'd been so kind.

Without another word, she turned and walked into the town house.

* * *

><p>"He is very kind. I should be grateful," Olivia sighed, lounging on her sofa.<p>

"But you're not happy with this arrangement," Holly concluded.

"How can I be?" Olivia cried dramatically.

Holly busied herself with tidying up.

"I know I'm being a pest," Olivia said, "but it's really just not fair. And not at all the way had I pictured it."

"How do you mean?" Holly asked, looking up from what she was doing.

"I never thought you would be the one that was happier. It's selfish, I know, but I never pictured you being the one to get what they wanted and me being unhappy."

Holly said nothing, only stared at her hands. After a quiet moment, she spoke up.

"What are you going to do?" She asked finally.

"I don't know," Olivia sighed, "I suppose I might as well go through with the wedding. There's no need not too. I don't love Henry, but he is a very kind man. I cannot imagine that I'll be too terribly unhappy with my life."

Holly nodded, sitting down at the vanity chair and playing with her hands.

"It gets easier, you know."

Olivia looked up in confusion, for Holly had spoken so softly that she might have imagined the small girl said anything at all.

"That empty feeling you get," Holly continued, "It never fully goes away, but it fades to the point where you don't notice it as much. After a while, you don't really think about it anymore. But some moments, it comes back in overwhelming waves where you're sure it never went away at all. But as time goes by, those moments are more and more rare."

It took a moment for Olivia to realize that Holly was speaking from personal experience. Her young maid had never really opened up to her about her parents.

"Do you promise?" Olivia asked meekly.

Holly gave a rare smile, "Promise."

* * *

><p><strong>Holy poop, guys, am I serious right now? Yes I am. After over two years, here are the concluding chapter to Dear Fate. It's happening y'all. I had a lot of stuff happen in my life the last two years, most of which involved a guy (who, after we broke up, stole my flash drive with all of my prewritten stuff on it. Almost 200,000 words worth of stuff. Yeah.) But I just recently have come out of my funk involving all that stuff and needed something to occupy my time and low and behold, I came across my old Fanfiction account. So after rereading all of my stories, some of which were painful to get through (two years can be a long time) I decided to start working on my stories again and Dear Fate is first! Yay! <strong>

**The good news is, I am almost finished prewriting/editing the ENTIRE STORY. That's right, it's almost done. From What I can tell, it should have about five more chapters left, four for the story and one prologue. And I have two and a half of those written already (not edited) and I am rearing to go. The only thing that could possibly hold me up is having internet. I have to go over to my aunt's house to use internet and with both of us working different schedules, I can only guarantee an update every other day. **

**So to all of you still there, thank you! To all new readers, welcome! Let me know you're still there with some reviews! Love you guys!**

**Also, I know some things about the time period are factually wrong. Like, I'm pretty positive no one would let their 17 year old daughter on a date by herself with no chaprone, but for story sake we'll say that they do. I try to keep most things factually accurate but you'll have to allow me some inaccuracies for entertainments sake.**


	30. Chapter Thirty: Holly

_**Holly**_

Holly looked skeptical, "Are you sure about this?"

"Course," James said, smiling at her indecision, "my brothers and I used to do it all the time. It's very therapeutic."

Holly still looked hesitant, so he reached over and grabbed her hand.

"On the count of three. One. Two. THREE!"

Hand in hand, they tore down the hill towards the pond, screaming and yelling frantically. The large group of ducks barely had time to scatter before the couple reached them. They dropped to the ground, laying in the grass beside each other and laughing until tears streamed down their cheeks. For once, Holly didn't mind the disapproving stares they seemed to be getting from every direction. In fact, she hardly noticed them at all.

James turned to look at her, "What did I tell you?"

A peal of laughter escaped her lips. "You were right," she said.

She looked over and met his deep brown eyes in an unwavering gaze. He was looking at her so intently that she blushed and looked away. He laughed quietly.

"You're funny when you do that," he laughed, rolling onto his side to look at her.

She playfully glared at him and lightly pushed his shoulder. He smiled and grabbed her hand before she could retract it. He held her small hand in his larger one before placing a small kiss on her knuckles.

Holly didn't turn away this time, instead meeting his intense stare. They never broke eye contact, even as James leaned in ever so slightly. He was testing the waters, Holly knew, and she wasn't sure how far she was going to let him get. She was vaguely aware of the other people around them, but at the moment didn't care. Everything else melted away. All that mattered were those brown eyes, flitting closed as he closed the distance between them.

Holly's own eyes slipped shut as their lips pressed together. It was a simple kiss, and before she knew it he was pulling away. Her eyes were still closed and her lips still slightly puckered, savoring the moment. Until she heard light laughter from beside her.

Holly's eyes fluttered open, her mind still in a daze. She looked at James sitting across from her, smiling at her expression. She blushed a furious red and tried to turn away, but he grabbed her chin and gently turned her face back to him.

"Holly Spencer, I do believe I love you."

* * *

><p>Holly walked into Olivia's room several hours later with a basket of freshly laundered under garments under her arm. She was still in a slight daze, and Olivia immediately picked up on it.<p>

"How was your day?" She smirked.

Holly seemed almost as if she didn't hear her. She set the basket down and dropped to the sofa at the end of Olivia's bed. Holly could feel Olivia's eyes on her. With a sigh, she turned to Olivia.

"As you know, I went into the park with James today," she began.

Olivia urged her on.

"We had a very nice lunch at a local café, and I tried coffee for the first time. It was quite atrocious, but James assured me that it was an acquired taste."

"You're stalling," Olivia said in a sing-song voice.

Holly blushed and looked down.

"You mentioned a park. What happened there?" Olivia asked.

"He kissed me."

Holly saw Olivia's jaw drop.

"What?" She asked, as if she legitimately hadn't heard her.

"And told me he loved me."

Olivia looked on in shock. She finally found her voice.

"What did you say?" She asked.

"I didn't say anything. At first. But then, well, I told him I love him too."

"And do you?"

Holly paused, "I didn't know at first. I thought maybe we might have had just a really strong connection because of everything that has happened. But I realized that I do. I truly love him. He is sweet and kind and just everything I could have possibly hoped for. I do love him."

Holly's mind drifted back to the events from earlier in the day with a soft smile on her face. She didn't notice the smile Olivia sent her way.

"I am happy for you. Truly."

Holly looked over and smiled at her friend.

* * *

><p>"I will need these people sat here and I want the Smiths over here next to the- Molly, are you even listening to me?"<p>

Holly snapped her head up and stared at Mrs. Hamilton with wide eyes.

"Now Molly, I need to be able to trust you with this task. My daughters happiness depends on it. Can I trust you?" Mrs. Hamilton gave her a stern look.

Holly nodded hastily and Mrs. Hamilton continued on talking. Holly was tasked with helping with the seating arrangement for Olivia's engagement party. It was to be held in two days time in the townhouse dining hall. Holly hardly had to point out that Mrs. Hamilton seemed more concerned about who was sitting at her table rather than her daughters happiness. It was obvious to anyone who met the woman that social appearances were everything.

"Now I have this table here reserved for the officers from the Titanic that Olivia Mae just insisted that we invite, but I stuck them towards the back of the room," Mrs. Hamilton was saying.

"What?" Holly asked in shock.

It was apparent from the look on Mrs. Hamilton's face that she was just as shocked as Holly at the sudden outburst. In all the years she had been with them, Holly had never spoken in front of Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton.

"Sorry," Holly blushed a furious red.

It took Mrs. Hamilton a few more seconds to recover. It took a lot to make the woman speechless.

"As I was saying, I allowed her to invite them out of courtesy, but I refused to allow them to sit at her table or anywhere near the front, really. Mrs. Brown, however, shall be seated right here," she pointed to a table a few away from Olivia's, "And I think that seats everyone. Yes, that shall be it for today."

Holly looked at the clock. She had been in the parlor for over four hours with Mrs. Hamilton. It had honestly felt like longer. She excused herself and made her way up to Olivia's room. She walked in to see the older girl lounging at her breakfast nook, a small novel in hand.

"How was my mother?" she asked, not looking up from her book.

Holly threw her a glare before setting to work sorting out Olivia's dirty clothes.

"Sorry I couldn't make it but this cough," she threw in a pathetically fake attempt at a cough, "has been bothering me all day."

Holly shook her head, "When were you going to tell me you invited Harry and James to your engagement party?"

"I sent invitations to all the surviving officers, not just them. As a courtesy, you understand."

Holly threw her a skeptical look, finally giving up on folding the clothes and joining Olivia at the table.

Olivia finally looked up from her book, "What? I couldn't very well tell my mother the relationships that we had developed with the two so I found a way around it. You should thank me. I did it for you."

"I do appreciate it. I just wonder why you didn't tell me," Holly replied.

"I thought it would be a nice surprise. Clearly Mother had to ruin it."

"Not that I will be able to socialize anyway. Your mother will have me running all night," Holly concluded, thinking of the awful woman.

"She already has the party fully staffed without you. She just wouldn't allow you to join the party. So, put on your nicest dress and stay away from my mother. Not like she'd recognize you anyway, but just in case, she'll be none the wiser," Olivia explained.

"Fair point," Holly nodded.

* * *

><p><strong>Yay! Next chapter already. I'm going to go ahead and apologize. If these first couple of chapters seemed off in anyway, it's been almost two years since I've written anything so it's taking me just a bit to get back into the swing of things.<strong>

**Also, I've the last few chapters almost completely written, but I'm working on the end of the last one and the prologue. I'm not really sure where I want this story to end up. I know for sure where James and Holly are going to be, but I'm still unsure of the fate of our dearest Olivia, who has made quite a change from the beginning of the story. I'm so proud of her, gosh! Anyway, why don't you guys give me your opinion on what you think should happen to Olivia and I'll take those opinions into consideration when I flesh out the last of this story. **

**Let me know or I'll just kill her! Not really. Maybe.**


	31. Chapter Thirty One: Olivia

_**Olivia**_

Olivia looked around the room in boredom. There were too many people in the room, most of which she didn't know. Once, she would have relished the option to make so many new connections, to have so many people telling her how lucky she was. She didn't feel very lucky, however, and it took everything in her to smile and make polite conversation as everyone approached her.

She was currently standing beside her mother in a group of woman far beyond her own age. If someone asked, she wouldn't have been able to tell you what they were talking about. But she nodded along politely when she was addressed and continued to scan the room.

She finally spotted who she was looking for and smiled. Holly Spencer was presently standing at the back of the room, standing awkwardly by herself as everyone around her laughed and joked. She was in a simple grey dress, one that Olivia had handed off to her. It had to be taken in, of course, but the result was a rather well fitting dress.

"Mother, I am going to make a round," Olivia interrupted, gesturing to the room.

"Of course, dear," her mother smiled, ignoring her for the most part.

Olivia smiled and excused herself politely before making a beeline for her friend.

"You look so out of place," she said when she reached the small girl.

"Really? I thought this dress seemed right," Holly said self-consciously, looking down at her dress.

"I meant you. You're just standing here not interacting with anyone. Where is your beau?" Olivia asked.

"I don't know. Harry is over there with the other officers but I don't want to go over there and interrupt them to ask," Holly replied.

Olivia looked over at the group of officers and saw Harry Lowe talking and laughing with a few other officers from Titanic that she hadn't bothered to learn the names of. He glanced up and saw the two girls looking at him before smiling and sending them a small wave. Olivia smiled back and nodded.

"Where is your fiancé?" Holly asked Olivia.

"Over there, talking to none other than Michael Haim," Olivia spat the name with disgust.

"What?! He's here?" Holly asked, looking frantically about.

"Calm down. He's not going to be doing anything here. The night we reported him was the night the ship sank and as the master-at-arms did not survive the sinking, no one is the wiser about the slimy git. And since his father is one of the most powerful men in the country, my mother was inclined to invite them," Olivia responded.

"Won't he be mad about you trying to have him arrested?" Holly asked.

"He never knew. The arrest was to take place in the morning," Olivia replied.

Holly looked extremely uncomfortable. Olivia ignored it and looked around for any other familiar faces. There was none that she could see.

"This is horrible," Olivia sighed.

"It's not so bad. I saw Mrs. Brown earlier. She seemed in a delightful mood considering everything that's happened," Holly said.

"I should go speak with her. I'll find you later," Olivia said, walking off.

* * *

><p>After speaking with several more people who wanted to stop her and congratulate her, Olivia finally stumbled across Molly Brown sitting at a table by herself, enjoying a hearty glass of wine.<p>

"Mrs. Brown, how lovely that you could make it," Olivia smiled, sitting down beside the older woman.

"Miss Olivia, how lovely of you to invite me," Mrs. Brown replied in her Southern accent.

"Where is Mr. Brown? I thought I would be meeting him tonight?" Olivia asked, looking around.

"Ah, Mr. Brown and I separated three years ago. It seems after 23 years of marriage, we finally got tired of each other," Mrs. Brown replied, a smile on her face.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't know," Olivia said, aghast at her own forwardness.

"It's alright dear. We were wild in love when we were young but it seems money ended up being the death of our marriage," Mrs. Brown said lightly.

"How do you mean?" Olivia asked.

"Well, as you probably have heard already, I wasn't born in to money and neither was my husband. We were both children of immigrants. I wanted to marry into money, but I met J.J. and fell in love. Decided I'd rather marry for love than money and that was it. Course, we ended up striking gold with his company, so I ended up getting the best of both worlds anyway. Or so I thought," For the first time, Mrs. Brown's smile faltered. Before Olivia could comment on it, however, the smile returned.

"Seems like you got yourself a fine man there," Mrs. Brown nodded towards Henry.

"Yes, I suppose," Olivia looked in the direction of her fiancé. Henry was smiling and nodding, now speaking to an older gentleman Olivia didn't recognize.

"Better than that Cal Hockley, anyway," Mrs. Brown said in disgust, staring at someone behind Olivia.

Olivia turned and saw Caledon Hockley, standing in a group of gentleman with a drink in his hand. For just losing his own fiancé, he looked relatively well.

"It's a shame about Miss Rose," Olivia sighed, turning back to speak to Mrs. Brown once more.

"Ah, yes, it would seem so," Mrs. Brown said, a knowing smile on her face.

"Mrs. Brown, is there something you're not telling me?" Olivia asked slowly.

Mrs. Brown looked around for a moment to make sure no one was listening before leaning in, gesturing for Olivia to do the same. "Rumor has it, Rose Dewitt Bukator died in the sinking on the Titanic. I've heard, from a rather reliable source, that a Rose Dawson disembarked the Carpathia alone in New York and was headed to Chicago the last I heard."

Dawson. The name sounded familiar. Then it hit her, "Oh my, are you saying what I think you're saying?"

Mrs. Brown leaned back and smiled, "Could be a coincidence. I mean, I'm sure there had to have been more than one Dawson on that ship. None that I know of, but that doesn't mean anything."

Rose was alive. Olivia was sure of it. The pieces were starting to fit together rather nicely now. Something had happened between Rose and Jack Dawson, and when he did not make it, rather than going back with her mother and fiancé, Rose had taken off.

"How extraordinary," Olivia laughed, thinking how similar their situations must have been.

* * *

><p><strong>Yay! Chapter 31! And I changed my mind, so there are going to be two more chapters than I originally thought. So five more after this. The next one should be up either tomorrow or Friday. Ta ta for now!<strong>


	32. Chapter Thirty Two: Holly

**_Holly_**

Holly stood in her own corner, away from everyone else. Olivia had assured her that she looked just like an upper-class woman should, but Holly knew that she did not act like one. She had seen the way Olivia had operated for most of her life but she didn't think she could imitate those behaviors. So she stood in the corner by herself.

She had looked around for James when she first arrived but couldn't seem to find him anywhere. She managed a polite smile from Harry Lowe earlier in the night, but it seemed highly inappropriate to just go up and talk to him about James, especially when he was surrounded by all of his fellow officers. Or rather, his few fellow officers as most of them had perished in the sinking. Holly thought it was unusually kind of Olivia to invite them to her engagement party, but Olivia had changed quite a bit in the last few weeks.

Holly had honestly thought it would go back to the way things were before they'd even sailed on the Titanic. Olivia had an extraordinary way about her where she could push everything from her mind and pretend like nothing had happened when she wanted to. Not that anything had gone horribly wrong in the older girls' life to warrant such ability, but Holly knew it was still there.

Still, Olivia seemed to have pushed everything to do with the Titanic and Tommy Ryan from her mind, save inviting several people she'd met on the ship to the party. Some, such as Caledon Hockley and apparently Michael Haim, had already been invited and had been planning to come before the ship had even sailed. Others, like Molly Brown and the surviving officers, were last minute additions that Mrs. Hamilton hadn't been too happy to accommodate. Still, here they were.

Holly was broken from her thoughts as a large shadow passed over her. "You look lovely tonight."

Holly froze in fear and lifted her head to meet the eyes of one Michael Haim, the one person in the room she wanted no association with.

"Relax, you stupid girl. You really think I would do anything here? Well, I suppose you would," he said, looking down his nose in disdain.

Holly looked away and scanned the room for anyone that could save her from this conversation. No one seemed to be paying the small girl any mind.

"I have been trying to talk to your mistress all night, but she seems to be avoiding me," Michael seemed as if he were genuinely surprised by this.

"I wonder why," Holly snapped without thinking, bringing a hand to her lip in remembrance.

Michael looked at her in shock and laughed.

"Yes, I suppose she does have some sort of strange attachment to you. I can imagine it might have offended her when I took disciplining you into my own hands," Michael said with a sly grin.

"You were a nuisance to her. She was engaged to someone else at the time and you would not leave her alone," Holly said, gaining more confidence.

"In case you don't remember, she in fact was the one that led me on. Yes, I knew she was engaged at the time, but I thought she wanted to have a little fun before she was tied off to someone else," Michael shrugged his shoulders, as if it were something he did all the time.

"Well I can hardly believe she does not want to speak to you after you tried to pervert the sanctity of her upcoming nuptials," Holly replied sarcastically.

Michael laughed and shook his head, "I actually wanted to apologize. My father has informed me that I am to be married as well. I was hoping to put this whole thing behind us as I rather respect her husband to be."

"Apology not accepted," Holly replied quickly.

"I wasn't apologizing to you," Michael sneered, "I don't care what you think of me. And I do not regret the way I treated you. You are of a lower class, therefore you do not matter. Your mistress, however, I care very deeply what her and her betrothed think. It is rather hard to quell my pride enough, but it must be done."

"Why are you telling me all of this?" Holly asked, "I am not passing your message along, if that is what you want."

"Of course I wouldn't trust you with such a message. And as I threatened you the last time we spoke, I didn't expect you to point me in her direction. Ah, well, I'm sure I'll stumble upon her eventually. Good night, Miss Holly," Michael said mockingly, pushing off the wall and walking away.

"What did he want?"

Holly spun around to face Harry Lowe. He had come out of nowhere and had a look upon his face as if he had just tasted something particularly foul.

"To apologize. To Olivia, not to me," she clarified.

"Right git, thinks he can get away with laying his hands on a woman," Harry said, the disgusted look still on his face.

They watched him saunter back over to Henry Wellington, where he obviously thought Olivia would show up eventually.

"Oh, he made sure to let me know he thought me less than a woman because of my social standing. No matter, he is here no more. Which, I have noticed that someone else is not here either," Holly replied, turning back to Harry.

"Ah, yes, Jamie, well, I would tell you where he was, but he made me promise not to. Has a plan, or something, he said. Oh, wait, I don't think I was supposed to tell you that part," Harry haphazardly explained.

"What?" Holly asked, confusion etched upon her face.

"Yes, he was planning on coming later, after the other officers left. I was to send someone after him when they had gone," he replied.

"Why would he not want to see his friends?" she asked curiously.

"It's not so much him not wanting to see them as him not wanting them to see him," Harry clarified.

"Why?" Holly asked again.

"Listen, I've already said too much. I can safely assume that the other officers will bore of the party in half an hour or so. Then Jamie will come and he can explain everything to you in full detail. Until then, just enjoy the party," Harry smiled, walking away.

* * *

><p>It took more than two hours for the other officers to decide to leave. Free drink was a rather inviting offer compared to a pub down the street. Finally, after the last one left, Harry gave her a wink and walked out the door behind him. Holly was confused but waited patiently. Finally, her moment had arrived.<p>

She saw James enter with his hair slicked back rather nicely and a fine suit on. He looked as if he fit in rather well, examining the room with anxious eyes. Finally, his eyes landed on her and a smile lit up his face. He made his way over to her.

"Madame, would you like to join me on a walk through the back gardens?" he asked, grabbing her hand and placing a small kiss on it.

"How did you know about the gardens?" Holly asked suspiciously.

"We have mutual friends," he nodded behind her.

She turned and saw Olivia smile and wave at her. She faced James once more.

"Very well, to the back garden then," Holly said hesitantly, unsure of what was next.

They were sat on a bench in front of a lattice that had a rose bush climbing up it. It was a rather beautiful sight, but Holly was focused intently on the man in front of her. So far, James had said nothing. He was fiddling with his hands rather nervously, so Holly ventured first.

"Why did you not want the other officers to see you?" she asked.

"Who told you that?" he looked up in shock.

"Harry. In so many words. He seemed like he didn't want to say anything though," Holly replied.

"Yeah, cause I told him not to say anything yet," James grumbled.

"Yes, but now I know. So why?" Holly asked again.

"Because I don't want them to know I'm alive," he replied slowly.

"Why ever not?" Holly exclaimed, surprised.

"Because, I don't want to go on another ship. I want to go off somewhere and start a life, a family. And I want you to join me," he said, finally looking up to meet Holly's gaze.

"Truly?" Holly smiled, looking the man she loved in the eyes.

"Truly. I want to go somewhere where no one knows us and start a life together. Would you join me?" he asked, a smile spreading across his face once he saw the same grin on hers.

"Of course, I would love too! Only, Olivia…" she trailed off, the smile slipping from her face.

"Well, since your father wasn't around to ask, I figured best friends would be the next best thing, so I asked Olivia. For your hand. In marriage," he stumbled through the last bit.

"And she said?" Holly asked anxiously.

"Who do you think told me of this garden and how you seemed to find yourself here on warm afternoons with a book?" he smiled.

He reached into his coat and pulled out a small black box. He stood from the bench and knelt beside Holly.

"Miss Holly Spencer, will you do me the honors of becoming my wife?" he opened the box and revealed a silver band set with a small purple stone.

She laughed and jumped on him, knocking the both of them to the ground. He released the breath he'd been holding and held her to him, sitting up with her in his lap. He pulled the ring out without a word and slipped it on the appropriate finger. She held out her hand and looked at it admiringly.

"I know it's not much-" he began.

"It's perfect," she smiled, turning to him and kissing him full on the mouth.

* * *

><p><strong>So I had to post this in celebration because I just finished writing the rough draft of the prologue! That's right, this story is completely fleshed out! The only thing left is to go back and edit the rest of the chapters, which might take a day or two between just because I'm never happy with the first thing I've written. <strong>

**And this was news to me, but apparently people are wanting a Harry/Olivia coupling. I honestly had no intention of that to begin with, or even as I got up to the last few chapters. I just really liked the guy who played him in the movie (Go Mr. Fantastic!) and so I added him in as a larger part. But anyway, you'll just have to finish the story to find out what happens to them! Let me know what you think, yo. Ta ta for now!**

**Also, as a side note, pictures have been updated on my profile for the four original characters in the story. This includes Henry now!**


	33. Chapter Thirty Three: Olivia

_**Olivia**_

Olivia awoke the next morning feeling slightly disoriented. She couldn't remember much of the previous night as most of it had gone by in a blur. She didn't know many of the people at the party, so she didn't pay much attention. She looked around for the clock and spied one on the opposite wall. It read 10:17.

Olivia got up slowly, wondering where on earth Holly could be. Usually the younger girl was up and about hours before then, trying desperately to get Olivia up and failing miserably. So Olivia shrugged on her dressing robe and made her way downstairs.

She wanted to avoid her mother for as long as possible, so she slipped quietly passed the parlor where she knew her mother would be at this time of day and headed for the back garden. After searching the entire back area with no sign of Holly, she made her way back inside.

With nowhere else to look, she made her way down the set of stairs in the kitchen to where she knew the servants quarters were. She got down there and saw rows of doors going in every direction. She stopped the nearest person, who just happened to be one of the live in cooks.

"Excuse me, sir, I was wondering if you could point me in the direction of Holly Spencer's room," she said.

He looked at her in shock before pointing in the direction of the hallway to the right, "Last door on the left."

She smiled politely at him and continued down the hallway. She reached the room and knocked. When no one answered, she slowly slid the door open.

"Holly?" she ventured quietly.

She pushed the door open fully and slid in, before closing the door quietly behind her. She turned back around to face the room. She squinted in the semi-darkness, for only a small window near the ceiling provided any light. She finally spied her maid and held back a small laugh at the girl.

Holly was sprawled out across the entire bed, and for such a small girl, she took up quite a bit of space. Her long dark hair covered her face, and part of it moved in and out according to her breathing. Olivia walked over to the bed and grasped Holly's shoulder.

"Holly, wake up!" she cried, shaking the younger girls shoulder.

Holly sat up in fright, her hair a wild tangle of mess as she frantically tried to push it out of her face. Olivia laughed as Holly tumbled out of bed, trying to get up and still get the hair from her eyes.

"You silly girl, wherever is James going to fit in your marriage bed? Shall I tell him he'll need a bed for himself?" Olivia laughed.

Holly glared up at Olivia before finally managing to get the wild mess of tangles out of her face, "What are you doing down here?"

Olivia looked around before spying an oil lamp sitting on a small desk in the corner. The basement was obviously not wired with electricity. She turned the oil up in the lamp and suddenly the room brightened.

"It's almost 10:30. If figured you had to wake up at some point," Olivia said, turning back around to face Holly, who was still sitting on the floor.

"10:30?!" Holly cried in shock.

"Yes, I'm assuming you had a busy night last night," Olivia smirked.

A reflective smile slowly spread across Holly's face as she obviously remembered the previous night. She looked down at her hand thoughtfully and that's when Olivia saw a glint of silver.

"What is that?!" she asked excitedly, dropping to the ground beside Holly and grabbing her hand, pulling it closer to her face.

It was a beautiful silver band with a small purple stone set in it, obviously not terribly expensive but still quite striking.

"He asked me if he could ask you to marry him, but he never showed me the ring. Darling, this is quite exquisite," Olivia said, dropping all pretenses for a rare moment.

"I know," Holly smiled, but Olivia could tell she was holding something back.

"What?" Olivia asked, looking up to meet Holly's eye.

"After your wedding, I'm leaving," Holly replied slowly.

"Of course, I figured. You couldn't stay in this house with James. How horribly unromantic," Olivia responded.

"No, Liv, I'm leaving your service. And the state," Holly clarified.

"Oh," Olivia said simply, unsure of what else to say.

She had never really pictured her life without Holly. She was a constant, something that had always been there for her, even when nothing else was. The thought of losing her and never seeing her again almost made the older girl want to cry.

"Olivia, I'm sorry," Holly seemed at a loss for words other than the generic statement someone always threw out when another was upset.

"No, what are you apologizing for? Of course you're leaving. You have to go and start your own life," Olivia replied, waving a hand in front of her dismissively.

The two girls sat in silence for a moment. Finally, Olivia recovered, "So where are the two of you headed?"

"Chicago. James says there are many work opportunities there," Holly said slowly.

Olivia's ears pricked at the word Chicago.

"Interesting," she mumbled to herself.

"What?" Holly asked, having not heard her.

"Nothing, nothing. Come, Holly, we have lots to do before my wedding," Olivia recovered herself, and stood, heading towards the door.

* * *

><p>"I don't understand why we even need to have a final fitting of the dress. All of my other dresses fit the same, so why should this one not?" Olivia grumbled to herself from atop the stepping stool.<p>

The little old woman attending to the hem of her dress had not heard her, for she didn't even blink in response. That or she just didn't care.

"Oh darling, it still looks marvelous on you. Henry Wellington is going to be a very lucky man in three days time," Her mother exclaimed, bursting into the room.

Olivia gave her a halfhearted smile and glanced down at her dress. It really was stunning. The collar came around her neck and opened quite low, stopping right below her clavicle. The waist was cinched with a thick cream colored stretch of silk. It flowed out under the silk, creating a beautiful full skirt. The sleeves went down her wrists. In all, she very much wanted to wear this dress.

"How is it fitting? Have you had to make any adjustments?" her mother asked the old woman.

They dissolved into a quiet conversation about the dress, while Olivia stood there impatiently. She wanted nothing more to be out of this dress now. It was starting to suffocate her, tightening with every breath she took. The thought of being dressed in this garment the next time, when she would be getting ready to marry Henry, was almost too much to bear. She did not want to wear this dress anymore.

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry this one is a little late. Only three more left. Let me know what you think.<strong>


	34. Chapter Thirty Four: Holly

_**Holly**_

Holly looked ahead at the rather large ship. She shuddered before turning away.

"We don't have to go on it do we?" Holly asked James, pulling her shawl around her shoulders tighter.

James sent her an understanding smile, "Of course not, Love. He is meeting us right over her."

He gestured to a small, rather empty looking bar. They crossed the street and headed inside the bar. They chose a small table at the back and sat down to wait.

Harry was leaving on the ship across the way the day after tomorrow. He wouldn't be back until well after Olivia's wedding, by which time Holly and James would already be in Chicago. So they decided it would be best to say their goodbyes before he left.

"Are you sure you wouldn't rather have time to spend with Harry by yourself?" Holly asked unsurely.

"Of course not! I've been out for drinks with him several times this past week. And you are his friend too. You and Miss Olivia both. He wants to say goodbye to you as well," James replied.

Holly smiled at James and before she could respond, the door opened and Harry walked in. Holly turned and grinned at him as she and James stood to greet him. He made his way over to their table. He grasped James in a hug and took Holly's hand in his own, placing a small kiss on the back of it. They all sat down.

"Olivia told me to tell you that she wishes she could have been here, but with everything going on with the upcoming wedding, she knew her mother would never allow her to sneak away," Holly said as they returned to their seats.

Harry looked let down for a second, but before Holly had even realized it was there, the look dissolved, "Of course. Speaking of upcoming weddings, can't even wait until I'll have shore leave, eh Jamie?"

James blushed and looked at his drink. Holly laughed.

"You're right, that is funny," she smiled, poking his cheek.

He mock glared at her before pushing her finger away, smiling as he did so. Harry watched the two in fascination.

"How long are you going to be gone?" James asked, changing the subject quickly.

Harry shook himself out of his daze, "Two months. Although it will be several more months before I'll be able to afford a train ticket all the way out to Chicago." He smiled and punched James lightly on the arm.

James grinned and wrapped his other arm around Holly, who leaned into him.

"Who would have thought we'd have ended up here?" Harry asked, contemplatively looking at the couple in front of him.

"Do you think we'd still be here if… everything had gone normally?" Holly still couldn't bring herself to mention the sinking.

The three of them went silent for a moment, thinking about their circumstances. After a minute, James spoke.

"I think I would be going on this ship with Harry, but I knew that I was already at ease with you, and wanted to spend more time with you. I don't think that we'd be moving this fast, but we would have gotten her eventually," he said.

Harry smiled and nodded.

"Must you go away on this ship?" Holly asked suddenly.

Harry looked at her sympathetically, "Ah, Lass, that I do. In truth, the sea is my lover, and I cannot stay away from her long. These past couple of weeks have almost been too much."

Holly nodded, not quite understanding. As far as she was concerned, there could not be enough distance between her and the nearest body of water. She could happily spend the rest of her life without stepping foot onto another ship.

After a while, Harry had to report back to his ship and James was walking Holly home.

"I'm not keeping you from going with Harry, am I?" she asked suddenly.

"What?" James asked in shock, "of course not, no. I want to start a new life with you, and I very well can't do that from a ship, now can I?"

Holly nodded but James could tell she wasn't satisfied with his answer.

"I only joined the White Star Line to make money. I had nothing better going for me at home. The sea isn't my passion as it is Harry's. You're more important to me now," he said, wrapping his arm around her slender shoulders, trying to shield her from the frigid temperature. He knew how sensitive she was to cold.

They made it to the Hamilton's town house after walking in near silence. Holly began to climb the steps before turning around and facing James, a few steps below her and currently at eye level.

"I just want you to be happy. I will always love you and want to marry you, but if you desire to go back out to sea, I won't object," she said finally.

James sighed, "What can I do to convince you that you are everything that I want and that I couldn't bear to leave you."

She smiled and pulled him close, leaning into him and taking in his aroma. Sea salt air with a hint of drink and something else Holly couldn't quite place.

"I love you," she mumbled into his neck.

"I love you, too," his whispered into her hair.

* * *

><p>"How did it go? Was he upset I didn't come?" Olivia asked when Holly had finally managed to make her way up to the older girls room.<p>

"He seemed slightly disappointed, but more excited to be getting back out to sea. Why do you care so much?" Holly asked curiously, pulling night clothes out of the armoire for Olivia to put on.

"No particular reason other than he is my friend. We grew rather close on the Carpathia waiting for you to recover, as we only had each other for company. Or rather, I had no one else," Olivia explained.

"I had no idea," Holly said, helping Olivia out of her dress.

"Yes, I garnered quite an attachment to him. I'm rather sad to hear of his leaving, especially since I didn't get to wish him a proper goodbye," Olivia replied, slipping into her night clothes.

"He will be back into port in two months' time. Perhaps you can look him up when he gets back in?" Holly suggested.

"Don't be daft, I'll be married by then. How would it look if I went gallivanting off with another man? And a sailor at that? No, it's best that we part ways now, although I do regret that I didn't get to see him off," Olivia said, crawling into bed.

Holly said nothing, only gathered up Olivia's discarded clothes and sorted them into the proper linen baskets. Olivia seemed different, somehow, more determined to marry Henry Wellington than she had been before everything that had happened. There was something weird going on with that girl, and Holly needed to figure out what it was.

* * *

><p><strong>Hey. This one isn't fully edited but I felt guilty for leaving you guys hanging for so long. Ignore any mistakes, please.<strong>


	35. Chapter Thirty Five: Olivia

_**Olivia**_

Truth be told, Olivia Hamilton had no intention of marrying Henry Wellington. There had been no specific moment when she had come to this conclusion. She only knew that she could not go through with the wedding, and therefore she decided that it was only proper that she tell Henry herself.

She had sent for him not ten minutes before to meet her at the café where they had had their first official lunch date. She was extremely nervous, as she wasn't sure how this was going to pan out. She was hoping to convince him to keep quiet about it for at least a day, but she had an emergency bag packed just in case. She knew her mother would hear none of it, and Olivia was not looking forward to cutting her family out of her life. She could only hope that a few years down the road her parents would understand.

She hadn't even told Holly of her plan, but she knew the younger girl would support her. Holly knew how unhappy Olivia was. Or she should by now. Olivia had been dropping hints since they'd arrived in the town house.

If she was being completely honest with herself, one of the biggest reasons she was leaving was because of Holly. Olivia knew that there was no possible way she could survive her new married life without Holly.

It would be strange, Olivia thought, being equals with Holly. For she would be on her own when she left, no money to speak of and therefore being quite poor. The thought terrified her, but in some ways it also exhilarated her. She had never done anything adventurous in her life, and here was the biggest adventure waiting before her.

"Miss Olivia Mae?"

Olivia looked up to see Henry smiling sweetly down at her, before sitting in the seat opposite. He made it so much harder with that smile.

"Henry, thank you for meeting with me," she said formally.

"Not at all, my dear. We are to be married in two days, I imagine we'll be out and about like this often," he said, looking around and taking in his surroundings.

"Dear Henry, that is why I have asked you to meet me here today," she began.

The smile on his face began to slide away and Olivia had a feeling he knew what was coming.

"Henry, darling, please know that this has nothing to do with you. When I first started my voyage, I very much wanted to meet and marry you. I could think of nothing I wanted more. But while I was on the Titanic, something in me changed. I cannot explain what or why-" That was a lie, she knew exactly why, "-but it has led me to the conclusion that neither of us would be happy married to the other. I would be unhappy, and therefore resent you and any children we might have had. And I'm just not ready to be a wife! I know nothing of the wifely duties that are expected of me and-"

"Miss Olivia," Henry interrupted, "I believe you are ranting."

Olivia's head snapped up suddenly. She had almost forgotten he was there, having been heavily involved in her so called rant. The look on his face was undecipherable, though he did not look angry. That was good at least.

"I suppose I knew this was coming," he started off slowly.

"You are a wonderful man, and so kind. I know that you will make someone very happy one day. That someone cannot be me though. I am truly, truly sorry," Olivia replied.

"Please don't do that," he said, looking down at his hands.

"Do what?" Olivia asked, confused.

"Apologize. It is not your fault. And essentially, this is what I wanted to begin with."

Olivia looked at him with her mouth open in shock, not understanding.

"You are my mother's first choice for me to marry, but I'm sorry to say, you are not my first choice. I am in love with someone else," he replied, looking away from her.

Olivia's face broke into a grin, "Oh this is wonderful!"

He looked up at her sharply. She continued before he could say anything.

"You can blame the whole thing on me. We don't even have to say anything, pretend to go through with our wedding. And when I don't appear, you will be free to marry whoever you want," she explained hastily.

"What are you going to do?" he asked unsurely.

"Don't worry about me, by that point I'll be long gone," Olivia replied, waving a hand in front of her dismissively.

"Miss Olivia, how can I ever even thank you?" he asked.

"Please, do not say anything to anyone yet. I want to be gone already before anyone becomes the wiser," Olivia responded.

"Of course," he said.

They sat there for a moment longer, not saying anything.

"Well, Miss Olivia Mae, I wish you well in your endeavors," Henry said, standing up.

"And you as well, Henry," she replied, standing with him.

They shared a quick hug and parted ways for the last time.

* * *

><p>"Holly, let's leave tonight."<p>

Olivia burst into her room, startling Holly from making her bed.

"I'm sorry, what?" Holly asked, genuinely confused.

"Let's go to Chicago. Tonight."

Holly paused and stood to her full height, turning to look at Olivia.

"What about Henry? Your wedding?"

"Forget about all that. I've taken care of it. I want to run away with you. Tonight," Olivia went into her walk in closet, grabbing a small trunk and dragging it into the larger room.

"We will take all of my jewelry and anything else we can and sell it to start out. I'm sure we will make at least enough to start out."

Holly looked on in astonishment as Olivia went around the room, gathering more stuff to add to her mostly packed trunk.

"You truly want to do this?" Holly asked quietly.

"Yes, more than anything. I don't want to lose you and I don't want to marry Henry. I want what you and James have, and I could never have that with him," Olivia replied, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

Holly sat beside her. No words passed between the girls, but the silence spoke volumes. Olivia could not be more certain that this is what she wanted. And she knew that Holly would not refuse her.

"We had planned to leave after your wedding," she finally said.

"Well, we must be gone before then. I cannot be here when my mother finds out what I have planned," Olivia replied.

Holly nodded, "I will speak to James tonight."

Olivia smiled and reached over, grasping the smaller girl around the shoulders and embracing her. Holly hesitatingly wrapped her own arms around Olivia and hugged her back.

"Are you sure?" Holly asked finally, pulling away.

"I have never been more sure about anything in my life."

* * *

><p><strong>One more y'all. This is the final chapter in the story, and then the prologue.<strong>


	36. Chapter Thirty Six: End

_**Epilogue**_

"Oliver! Oliver! Come here this instant!"

Holly chased her four-year- old son around the house, trying to catch him to put his nice shirt on. He was having none of it.

"Play! Play!" he laughed, dodging his mother yet again.

"Oliver, do not make me go get your father," Holly warned.

Olivier apparently thought this was part of his game, for he began to shout, "Daddy, daddy!"

Holly rolled her eyes, laying the shirt on the table and going out to the backyard.

"James!" she called across the lawn, "I do believe I need help with your son."

James stuck his head out from the shed, "What do you mean?"

"I cannot get this boy dressed, and she will be here soon," Holly replied.

"All right dear, give me five more minutes and I'll be in," he glanced at the look on his wife's face, "on second thought, I think I'm done here."

They walked back in to the house together. Oliver spotted his father and flew at him, wrapping himself around James' legs.

"Are you giving your mother a hard time?" James asked, scooping the little boy up into his arms.

Oliver laughed as James handed him over to Holly, who quickly stripped the boy of his clothes before putting his nice ones on.

"Why I gotta wear this?" Oliver asked, looking down at his clothes in disgust.

"Because your aunt and uncle are coming by, and it's not often that we get to see them. So we have to look nice for them when we do," Holly responded, taking her apron off and hanging it on its hook beside the stove.

It was one of the rare stretches that Olivia and Harry were in town at the same time, so Holly was putting every effort into making the night run as smoothly as possible.

Holly thought back to the moment five years ago, when she, Olivia, and James had decided to come to Chicago. James and Holly had been married at once, in a small private ceremony with Olivia as the only witness. They had found a small place, perfect for raising a family. Olivia had put part of the money down as a payment, selling some of her jewelry for it. Holly and James had tried to refuse at first, but Olivia would have none of it. "If it makes you feel better, you can pay me back later," she had said. Though she had never given the price that she had paid, so it was difficult to manage how much they were indebted to her.

She hadn't stayed in the city long before she got bored. So she sold the rest of her jewelry and headed to San Francisco, wanting to see what else was out there. She had lived on her sold jewelry for a while, having more than she'd originally thought. When she had run out, she did odd jobs, working in a small café for a bit along with other things. About a year ago, however, she finally decided to contact her parents. Her mother had wanted nothing to do with her, but her father had missed his little girl. He had taken to sending her a small bit of money every month to support her travel habit. She'd been all over the United States, but had yet to set foot on another ship, preferring to keep both feet on solid ground.

Harry, meanwhile, had been an officer on three more ships, and suffered no more mishaps. He tried to come and visit as often as he could when he had shore leave, but as of late it hadn't been very often. Holly knew that James missed the sea and his best friend, and she had an inkling that every time Harry left James longed to go with him.

But the moment wouldn't last long, because after everyone had left and they'd put their son to bed, James would embrace Holly and tell her there was no place else he'd rather be. Together they would go to bed, and when she woke up in the morning, James was still by her side.

Holly was pulled from her reverie when James stood beside her, wrapping his arm around her shoulder.

"When do you think they are going to stop avoiding the subject and just settle down?" he asked, speaking of their two friends.

"It's already been five years dear. They are both too stubborn. Give them another five years and I am sure they will figure it out," Holly replied, laughing.

"I can hardly believe it's taken them this long," James said.

"They are both too involved in their own lives. And they hardly ever see each other," Holly replied.

"That doesn't mean they don't keep in contact. Harry has let it slip several times that they are in correspondence," James smirked at the astounded look on his wife's face.

"I didn't know that. Olivia never said," Holly replied, "it does not really surprise me, but it still would have been nice to know."

"Maybe tonight will finally be the night," James said.

"Maybe."

A large smile broke out on Holly's face as the doorbell rang throughout the house.

* * *

><p><strong>There it is. Hope you like it and thank y<strong>**ou to all of you that have stuck with me since the beginning. I really appreciate all of you guys so much! **


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